HUNT SLONEM: TOTEMS

Madelyn Jordon Fine Art is delighted to present TOTEMS, a solo exhibition of new paintings and sculpture by HUNT SLONEM. The exhibition will run from October 29 – December 11, 2021, with an opening reception on Friday, October 29, 2021 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. This is Slonem’s third solo exhibition with the gallery and the public is welcome to attend.

TOTEMS will debut 20 of Hunt Slonem’s newest paintings on subjects for which he is best known – bunnies, butterflies, and tropical birds. Additionally, this exhibition features Slonem’s new glass sculptures for the first time.  As an artist who has fashioned a distinctive, neo-expressionist style over a stellar 40-year career, Slonem continues to evolve his artistic practice, while remaining true to his artistic roots.

Slonem continues to experiment with unconventional methodologies and materials which provide the perfect conduit to express his artistic vision as an abstract painter of living things in nature. His newest series, ‘Totems’, is an evolution of ‘Chinensis’, and features whirls of blended colors and heavy brushstrokes amid a fluffle of bunnies. Slonem’s recurring motifs are driven by his spiritual connection to his beloved iconography, which have become ‘totems’ – or emblems- of his practice. These symbolic works are a form of meditation to Slonem, the visual equivalent of his own mantra.

Slonem’s work is deeply rooted in the act of painting.  His practice of layering thick heavy paint over paint that bleeds into each other with a singular technique of cross hatching, conveys a sense of movement and verve to the painting.  The multiple, repetitive figures reflect his desire to explore spatial complexity, compression, and density where there is no clear beginning or end.  One of the great colorists of his time, Slonem’s idiosyncratic works feature a buoyant and vivid, fauvist palette. Through the application of lavish, lush colors, Slonem’s painterly style continues to be fresh and innovative bordering on Pop Art aesthetics. Deeply concerned with the environment and its preservation, Slonem’s ultimate aim is to paint uplifting and joyful works that illustrates his love for the earth— our “Garden of Eden.”

Slonem’s new glass sculptures are a sublime visual manifestation of the artist’s sense of play. Each unique work’s hand formed composition reflects his gestural and loose engagement with the materials, much like his tactile interaction with his beloved oils. Whether seen in large groupings similar to his commanding large works on canvas, or individually, Slonem’s bunnies present the viewer with dazzling spectacle of color-fueled inertia. Produced at his West Coast studio in Seattle, Washington, Slonem and his team of artisan glassblowers collaborate on new works with the same quick gestural dance of his paint brush marks on canvas.

As stated by Slonem “This new body of work was borne out of these unexpected times. Given an unexpected opportunity to create work in an entirely new methodology, what has resulted is an artistic liberation of sorts. My established lexicon of forms have taken on new life in blown glass, in bronze, and other media, all in a visual culmination that is thrilling to me artistically. This moment in time has proven to be an impetus for an ever-expanding vocabulary of new work and I’m pleased to share it with you.”

Hunt Slonem was born in Kittery, Maine in 1951. His father was a navy officer, and as a result of his father’s military career, Slonem spent much of his childhood on different military bases, living in Hawaii, Virginia, Louisiana, Connecticut, California and Washington. After completing school, which included living in Nicaragua as an exchange student at the age of 16, Slonem began his undergraduate studies at Vanderbilt University.  Slonem attended the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME, in 1972, before moving to Tulane University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA, where he graduated with a BA in 1973.

Since 1977, Slonem has had over 250 solo exhibitions at prestigious galleries.  Museums, both domestic and international, have collected his work, among them 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.