Hunt Slonem: Bunnies, Bunnies and More Bunnies

Solana Beach, California – Madison Gallery announces the opening of Hunt Slonem’s , Bunnies, Bunnies and more Bunnies! The artist’s 8^th solo exhibition in our San Diego gallery celebrates Hunt’s most iconic and beloved imagery, Bunnies. Both whimsical and relatable, Hunt’s signature “self-portraits” take on a life all of their own. We invite you on this magical journey into the fantasy world of Hunt Slonem.

Every morning, upon rising – even before he’s had his first cup of coffee – Hunt Slonem performs his daily warm-ups . He approaches his work table where a stack of small rectangular panels awaits. Some of the panels are made of wood, some of Masonite. In the course of the next half hour he will have populated all the panels with rabbits. These warm-ups are, as John Berendt calls them, “the artistic equivalent of calisthenics in which he flexes his painting apparatus to establish control over the colors, shapes, and textures that flow from his mind’s eye through his arm, hand, and brush on the painted surface.” Hunt Slonem paints countless other subjects, but the bunnies always begin his day. ” This witty formalist strategy meshes the creatures into the picture plane and something nearly obliterates them as images, but it also suspends and shrouds them in a dim, atmospheric light that is quite beautiful”- Roberta Smith

“I didn’t know at the time why I picked them [bunnies]. I liked them, and I’ve had them as pets off and on my whole life. I was using them in groups at the feet of saints. I don’t know: something about luck and multiplicity. I also just liked the shape, and they’re cuddly. Then one night I was having Chinese food and I looked down and realized I am the sign of the rabbit. So maybe they’re sort of all self-portraits?” – Hunt Slonem in Bunnies

Hunt Slonem is an American painter and sculptor. He is best known for his Neo-Expressionist paintings, whose works are included in many important museum collections all over the world; he is exhibiting regularly at both public and private venues, and he has received numerous honors and awards. Slonem’s works can be found in the permanent collections of 250 museums around the world, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Whitney, the Miro Foundation and the New Orleans Museum of Art.