Incollect Magazine - Issue 6

86 www.incollect.com Left: Hunt Slonem, Chattanooga. Oil and acrylic with diamond dust on wood, 10 x 8 inches. Courtesy of Whistler Contemporary Gallery. Right: Hunt Slonem, Aquamarine. Oil and acrylic with diamond dust on wood, 28 x 22 inches. Courtesy of Whistler Contemporary Gallery. abstract ideas. They are painted hurriedly, with ease and fluency, resembling fleeting glimpses of real bunnies caught momentarily at night in car headlights or glancing ever warily at us from under a hedge before scurrying away. There is no real flow to what Slonem does when he paints bunnies, he relates, it just evolves naturally. “I just paint,” Slonem says, “it has simplified things for me. I started out painting the bunnies more representationally but now they are more gestural.” His materials have changed over the years. “Back in the day one of my dealers gave me diamond dust and suggested I use it so I was into that for a while — I helped one of Warhol’s printers make one of his diamond dust paintings once.” But beyond that, he says he just lets whatever happens to happen with them — color, scale, form. The paintings of bunnies are enormously popular both in America and internationally and sell extremely well. He has shown in more than 350 galleries and produced, at last count, he estimates, over 1,000 bunny paintings in addition to artworks devoted to other subjects. “The odd thing is that nobody ever buys just one bunny painting as they look better shown in groups,” he says. “I’ve had people walk into shows and buy the whole wall of paintings. I’ve even had princesses ask for hundreds of bunny artworks at once.” His dealers agree. “Hunt’s whimsical animal works have been an incredible highlight of Whistler Contemporary Gallery for many years,” says Jenna Shamoon, assistant manager at the gallery. “Our visitors always stop to admire his works, loving the color, texture, and playfulness imbued in the pieces. And they appreciate the fine craftsmanship and technique that has made Hunt’s work so singular.” Jane Eckert from Eckert Fine Art in North Adams, Massachusetts. recently mounted a one-man show of Slonem’s work at her satellite gallery in Indianapolis, Coats Wright Art and Design. The show has proven so popular they have extended the run through September 1st. The opening was a benefit for the Indianapolis Children’s Museum which has a collection of 75 of his works. “The place was packed and as I looked around everyone was smiling and joyous as they admired the birds, bunnies, and butterflies adorning the gallery walls. We not only sold a lot of art but clients were thrilled to meet Hunt.” While in Indianapolis, Slonem and Eckert wandered the city, visiting shops where he purchased beautiful antiques for the many historic homes he owns around the country. “I realized during my time with him that he experiences joy in different ways and that the historic homes he owns are an extension of his creativity,” Eckert says. “Joy, for him, comes from painting but also finding and saving furniture and things from the past including historic homes while also knowing he is leaving a legacy of restoring and bringing Golden Age properties back to their original grandeur.”