The Polk Museum of Art Presents Hunt Slonem's "An Expressive Nature"

Written by Ingrid Potterfield Saturday, 05 May 2012 00:08

Lakeland, Florida.- The Polk Museum of Art is proud to showcase paintings by New York and Louisiana-based artist Hunt Slonem in an exhibition titled “An Expressive Nature” on view at the museum from December 17th through March 24th 2012. The exhibition will be celebrated at a reception from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, January 13th at the Museum. Slonem will lecture about his work beginning at 6 p.m., and a reception featuring light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar begins at 7 p.m. Contemporary works by Slonem are sought after by collectors from around the world. His vibrantly colored works can be found in nearly 100 international museum collections and countless other corporate and private collections. Slonem’s expressive paintings pivot between the fantastic and the natural.

As a youth in Hawaii, he developed an early affinity for nature, especially the various species of tropical birds living on the island. These natural forms ultimately became the subjects for his artworks, appearing in large, lavishly colored paintings and constructed sculptures. As an artist, Slonem is fascinated by the many expressive faculties of color. His paintings are layered with thick brushstrokes of vivid color, often cut into a cross-hatched pattern that adds texture to the overall surface of the painting. This surface patterning combines with the rich colors and recognizable subject matter to create paintings that are as physically exciting as they are aesthetically rich. Hunt Slonem (born July 18, 1951) is an artist who combines abstract expressionism and representational imagery. He is best known for his paintings of tropical birds, based on a personal aviary in which he keeps about 100 live birds of various species. His fascination with exotica can be traced to his experiences as a child in Hawaii and as a foreign exchange student in Managua, Nicaragua. Slonem received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Tulane University of Louisiana and studied painting at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Since 1977, Slonem has had over 150 solo exhibitions. Over 75 museums internationally include his work in their collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum, both in New York.


The Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, Florida, is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts in Central Florida. The Museum is one of the Top 10 art museums in the State of Florida, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and the only art museum accredited by the American Association of Museums serving the 561,000 residents of Polk County. It was originally established by the Junior Welfare League in 1966 and called the Imperial Youth Museum. The museum was renamed Polk Public Museum in 1969 as part of its expanded focus on art, history, and science. The museum's current name was adopted as part of its first building campaign in the 1980s. The museum currently displays art from the Pre-Columbian era through the contemporary, featuring hundreds of works each year in a variety of exhibits. These exhibits often revolve around a central theme or idea and link artworks from the ancient past with those of modern artists. Polk Museum boasts a permanent collection of over 2,500 works and a number of traveling exhibits which provide diverse displays that include American folk art, modern masters, japanese prints and textiles, african art, a permanent Pre-Columbian display, and much more. Visit the museum's website at ... www.PolkMuseumofArt.org

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