The Worlds of Hunt Slonem: Recent Works by Hunt Slonem
“Hunt Slonem's… grisaille paintings of small birds in their cages are most convincing. Painting wet-on-wet, Mr. Slonem grids off the surfaces to denote wire enclosures after the birds have been painted in place. This witty Formalist strategy meshes the creatures into the picture plane and sometimes nearly obliterates them as images, but it also suspends and shrouds them in a dim, atmospheric light that is quite beautiful.”
—Roberta Smith, art critic, The New York Times
Serge Sorokko Gallery to unveil "THE WORLDS OF HUNT SLONEM" – a striking installation of new paintings by Hunt Slonem.
Works on Display from January 31 through March 1, 2013
SAN FRANCISCO (January 8, 2013) -- Serge Sorokko Gallery announced today that it will host “THE WORLDS OF HUNT SLONEM” – a large scale installation of the New York artist Hunt Slonem’s most recent works. The Neo-Expressionist paintings on exhibit express Slonem’s strong affinity for nature, particularly the endangered rainforests, and include dramatic images of tropical birds and exotic butterflies. The show marks the prominent artist's long anticipated return to the Serge Sorokko Gallery. His last exhibition here was held in 1997.
Hunt Slonem’s Worlds will open to the public on January 31 and remain on view through March 2, 2013. (A private reception will be held on January 30, from 6:00 to 8:00 in the evening.)
“I am thrilled to bring this extraordinary new collection of Hunt’s paintings to San Francisco,” said gallery owner Serge Sorokko. “This exhibition represents a rare opportunity for people in the Bay Area to view his most recent creations, although, as with previous Slonem exhibitions, I anticipate nationwide interest in this latest collection.”
The Worlds includes more than 30 impressive oil paintings on canvas and wood – many of them adorned with ornate antique frames. Lavishly layered with thick brushstrokes, they convey the expressive faculties of vivid colors and pivot between the fantastic and the natural. New York Times art critic Roberta Smith observes, “Hunt Slonem's… grisaille paintings of small birds in their cages are most convincing. Painting wet-on-wet, Mr. Slonem grids off the surfaces to denote wire enclosures after the birds have been painted in place. This witty Formalist strategy meshes the creatures into the picture plane and sometimes nearly obliterates them as images, but it also suspends and shrouds them in a dim, atmospheric light that is quite beautiful.”
Also, on exhibit are the widely popular and critically acclaimed "Rabbit paintings." The idea for the series came to Slonem after he had discovered that the year of his birth, 1951, was the year of the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac calendar. Reviewing Slonem’s 2010 show at the Coral Springs Museum, art critic Michael Mills writes in the New Times, “I'm willing to bet it's his rabbit art that will win you over. I went in a skeptic but came out a convert.” Slonem often repeats imagery in this series, just like in many of his other paintings, because he believes the act is similar to spiritual meditation. "Mantras are holy because you repeat them," he told the Wall Street Journal.
Hunt Slonem has exhibited at prominent galleries and over 30 museums internationally. His work is included in major public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Solomom R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C.; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, the National Gallery of Art; Washington, D.C.; the Brooklyn Museum of Art Brooklyn, NY; the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts; and Joan Miro Foundation, Barcelona, Spain, among others.
The Serge Sorokko Gallery is located at 55 Geary Street, in San Francisco and can be visited on the Web at www.sorokko.com. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Telephone: 415 421-7770.
