Artist Spotlight - Atlanta | Hunt Slonem | 11 - 31 May 2026

Four large-scale works, hutch paintings, a diamond dust canvas, and a butterfly study, by one of America's most institutionally recognized Neo-Expressionist painters. On view now at Carousel Fine Art's Lenox Square gallery.

the artist: hunt slonem

Born in Kittery, Maine in 1951 and raised across Hawaii, California, and Nicaragua, Hunt Slonem trained at Tulane University in New Orleans and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Eventually, Slonem arrived in New York during the late 1970s, when Neo-Expressionism was reclaiming the primacy of gesture, color, and subject after decades of conceptual dominance. He was immediately among its most serious practitioners.

His practice is built from three recurring subjects: bunnies, tropical birds, and butterflies; each treated as material for sustained investigation rather than decorative motif.

Four Works. One Room. On View Through May 31.

An entire room of large-scale Slonem canvases, the kind of immersive, installation-scale encounter typically reserved for museum contexts.

the series: Three Iconographic Territories

Slonem's practice concentrates across three subjects, each treated as a vehicle for sustained investigation over decades.

The Hutch Paintings

Bunnies in dense groupings, often 50 to 100 figures, within a repeating compositional format. The title references both the rabbit enclosure and the accumulated formal logic Slonem has refined across decades. No two are identical: each is a unique product of a specific day, a specific ground, a specific state of attention. Repetition here is ritual, not decoration.

Diamond Dust Works

Finely ground glass, or actual diamond particles, applied over a painted surface to create a reflective shimmer that shifts with the ambient light. In Slonem's hands, the technique is not a flourish. It heightens the spiritual intensity of images he takes seriously. Diamond dust works occupy a distinct category within his output: materially differentiated, visually distinctive, and consistently sought in the secondary market.

Butterfly Paintings

The third primary territory in Slonem's practice, sharing the serial intensity of the bunny works. Species are specific and chosen, the Mourning Cloak, the swallowtail, and rendered with the gestural memory of years of sustained looking. Morning Cloak demonstrates how Slonem brings the depth of the hutch format to a single butterfly species.

FOR COLLECTORS

Acquiring Hunt Slonem

Hunt Slonem's market is one of the more active in American contemporary art at the mid-to-upper price range. Smaller bunny works represent an accessible entry point; larger hutch paintings and diamond dust works command considerably more - and are consistently sought in the secondary market.

Institutional presence at the depth of Slonem's record is a reliable market signal. When an artist's work appears simultaneously in the Guggenheim, the Metropolitan, and the Whitney, it means multiple independent expert eyes reached the same conclusion. That consensus supports a long-term holding.

The Lenox Square installation allows collectors and designers to assess works at scale before committing - understanding how a large-format hutch painting handles a room, how diamond dust shifts through the day, how different grounds perform against architectural light. This quality of pre-acquisition viewing is rarely available outside museum contexts.

Who is Hunt Slonem?

Hunt Slonem (b. 1951, Kittery, Maine) is an American Neo-Expressionist painter known for serial paintings of bunnies, tropical birds, and butterflies. He trained at Tulane University and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. His work is held in 250+ museum collections including the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art.

What is the hutch series?

The hutch series features bunnies in dense groupings - often 50 to 100 figures - in a repeating compositional format referencing a rabbit enclosure. No two hutch paintings are identical: grounds vary in color, figures shift in posture and density, and each is a unique product of a specific day and state of attention. The series has been in continuous development for decades.

What is diamond dust in painting?

Diamond dust refers to finely ground glass - or actual diamond particles - applied to a painting's surface to create a reflective, glittering effect that shifts with ambient light. The technique was famously deployed by Andy Warhol in the early 1980s. Slonem uses it selectively to heighten luminosity and spiritual intensity rather than to glamorize the subject. Diamond dust works are consistently sought in the secondary market.

Where can I see Hunt Slonem paintings in Atlanta?

Hunt Slonem's work is on view at Carousel Fine Art, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30326, inside Lenox Square. Works include Orange Bowl Hutch, Ruby-Red-Hutch (Diamond Dust), Bronze, and Morning Cloak. The display closes May 31, 2026. Free and open to the public.

How much do Hunt Slonem paintings cost?

Prices vary significantly by size, series, and surface treatment. Smaller bunny works represent the most accessible entry point; larger hutch paintings and diamond dust works command considerably more. Contact Carousel Fine Art at carouselartgroup.com for current pricing and availability.

Is Hunt Slonem's work in major museum collections?

Yes. Slonem's work is in 250+ permanent museum collections worldwide, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Miro Foundation, and the New Orleans Museum of Art. This is among the deepest institutional records of any actively collected American painter.

Inquire About Works

All four works are available for acquisition. The display closes May 31, 2026 - contact the gallery to discuss pricing, availability, and collector introductions.