Hunt Slonem Paintings
Hunt Slonem has mastered the art of repetition in his exuberant Neo-Expressionist paintings. Some of his favorite subjects are bunnies, butterflies and the tropical birds that live in the private aviary nestled within his 30,000-square-foot studio complex in Brooklyn, New York.
“I believe in repetition like a holy mantra or rosary,” Slonem told Introspective, referring to his artistic method. “I am slightly influenced by Pop art, like the repetition of soup cans, postage stamps and celebrities. It’s something I have been doing my whole life.”
Slonem’s depictions of birds — which are often rendered in thick, gestural brushstrokes and arranged in a loose grid — owe to a fascination with tropical avian life that he developed during a childhood spent in Hawaii and Nicaragua. Today, along with the aviary, his studio contains a personal garden, a collection of antiques and walls and walls of artworks.
“I am a collector of things. My primary focus is color and objects. I love to make them work in a space,” Slonem says. “Sometimes I define a space with color.”
Besides birds, Slonem has painted so many bunnies that they’ve become a signature. Limned in expressive, urgent strokes on flat, vibrantly colored backgrounds, these creatures fascinate through their subtle variations. “I have painted hundreds of rabbits, but each one is different,” the artist has explained. “Each has its own personality, and it just comes through me.”
The multitalented Slonem also sculpts, makes prints, creates installations and restores historic spaces. His work has achieved cult status among collectors and is represented in the permanent collections of such esteemed institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Slonem has even made an appearance on Real Housewives of New York.
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2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Impressionist Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Impressionist Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Neo-Expressionist Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil, Paint, Canvas
1990s Neo-Expressionist Hunt Slonem Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Jeff Fleming describes his painting style as kinetic impressionism. In this piece, a beagle triumphantly retrieves a stick thrown into the ocean. Jeff started the piece with a pencil sketch on the canvas, then with gloved hands, he applied oil paint using his fingers. Details were later added using brushes. Once these layers of paint dried, he moved the piece to his studio floor. "At this point, I whisked paint in random but authoritative strokes - a speckling technique which replicates water splashing."
About the Artist
Artist Jeff Fleming uses fingerpainting to create exuberant portraits of dogs. Growing up in Southern California, Jeff was first introduced to fingerpainting in kindergarten. He painted through high school and college and won several art awards, including Best of Show in a city wide student competition. After graduating with a degree in journalism and advertising, he went to work as an art director. For the next 40 years, he created print, radio and television ads for a number of top agencies. "After retiring in 2019, the clouds of stress and pressure cleared and allowed me to set my creative energy free," says Jeff. He began developing new techniques focused on the excitement and energy of painting. Today, he uses a variety of methods and tools, including fingerpainting wearing nitrile gloves, traditional paint brushes, bamboo shish kebab sticks, kite string, spraypaint and splattering. While working, Jeff always listens to music, including Broadway musicals, dance music and rhythmic Hawaiian tunes.
Words that describe this painting: beagle, dog, pet, impressionism, Iris Scott...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil, Cotton Canvas
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
1980s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Impressionist Hunt Slonem Paintings
Panel, Oil
1980s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Ink, Paper, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil, Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Mixed Media, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Paint
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Neo-Expressionist Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil, Paint, Canvas
2010s Neo-Expressionist Hunt Slonem Paintings
Wood Panel, Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Neo-Expressionist Hunt Slonem Paintings
Glass, Resin, Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Hunt Slonem Paintings
Oil