Hunt Slonem: Quantum Leap: New Paintings
“I'm willing to bet it's his rabbit art that will win you over. I went in a skeptic but came out a convert.”
—Michael Mills, art critic, the New Times
Serge Sorokko Gallery proudly welcomes prominent New York artist, Hunt Slonem, to San Francisco with the “HUNT SLONEM: QUANTUM LEAP” exhibit. The large-scale installation hosted by Sorokko will feature more than 40 of Slonem’s most sought-after pieces, showcasing work from his new book Bunnies—a hardcover volume containing over 250 color illustrations of his iconic rabbit paintings.
Serge Sorokko Gallery brings HUNT SLONEM: QUANTUM LEAP exhibit to San Francisco
Hunt Slonem unveils his latest paintings and joins Serge Sorokko Gallery in celebrating release of his new luxury volume BUNNIES
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 28, 2014) – Serge Sorokko Gallery proudly welcomes prominent New York artist, Hunt Slonem, to San Francisco with the “HUNT SLONEM: QUANTUM LEAP” exhibit. The large scale installation hosted by Sorokko will run from March 21, 2014 through May 10, 2014, and will feature more than 40 of Slonem’s most sought-after pieces.
Amongst the paintings featured, Slonem will showcase work from his new book Bunnies-a hardcover volume containing over 250 color illustrations of his iconic rabbit paintings. A treasury of enchanting paintings, the exhibit will celebrate the release of the Bunnies with a private reception and book signing at Serge Sorokko Gallery on March 20, from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.
“I am thrilled to bring this extraordinary new collection of Hunt’s paintings to San Francisco,” said gallery owner Serge Sorokko. “This exhibition represents a rare opportunity for people in the Bay Area to view his most recent creations, although, as with previous Slonem exhibitions, I anticipate nationwide interest in this latest collection, as well as his splendid new book.”
Inspiration for the widely popular and critically acclaimed “Rabbit paintings” came to Slonem after he had discovered that the year of his birth, 1951, was the year of the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac calendar. Reviewing Slonem’s 2010 show at the Coral Springs Museum, art critic Michael Mills writes in the New Times, “I'm willing to bet it's his rabbit art that will win you over. I went in a skeptic but came out a convert.”
Visitors can expect exquisite oil paintings on canvas and wood – many of them adorned with ornate antique frames. Lavishly layered with thick brushstrokes, they convey the expressive faculties of vivid colors and pivot between the fantastic and the natural. Slonem has already received praise and recognition from notable names in the art world including The New York Times’ art critic, Roberta Smith. Smith observes, “Hunt Slonem's… grisaille paintings of small birds in their cages are most convincing. Painting wet-on-wet, Mr. Slonem grids off the surfaces to denote wire enclosures after the birds have been painted in place. This witty Formalist strategy meshes the creatures into the picture plane and sometimes nearly obliterates them as images, but it also suspends and shrouds them in a dim, atmospheric light that is quite beautiful.”
A limited quantity of the Bunnies book – with a forward by John Berendt, acclaimed author of Pulitzer Prize finalist Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil- will be available for purchase ($85).
WHERE: Serge Sorokko Gallery 55 Geary Street, San Francisco
WHEN: March 20, 2014 5:00pm – 8:00pm
About the Artist
Hunt Slonem is the internationally recognized American painter, sculptor, and printmaker. His work has been exhibited in more than 350 galleries and museums worldwide, and is represented in over 100 museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim and The Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York City. He exhibits regularly at both public and private venues around the world, and has received numerous honors and awards, including a MacDowell Fellowship and National Endowment for the Arts grant. He lives in New York City and Louisiana, where he has notably restored two important plantations to their original states.
About the Serge Sorokko Gallery
Established in 1984, the Serge Sorokko Gallery has built a solid reputation on its fine collection of modern and contemporary art by internationally recognized artists. Located in the heart of San Francisco, the gallery features a range of original work – from painting and sculpture to works on paper and photography. Under the helm of founder and owner Serge Sorokko, the gallery has fostered many emerging painters while also exposing collectors to established artists such as Damien Hirst, Sol LeWitt, Sean Scully, Antoni Tàpies and Andy Warhol, to name a few. The gallery has also played a pivotal role in organizing many of the first cultural exchanges between the U.S. and the post- Soviet Russia, including the 1989 museum exhibition of celebrated New York artists in Moscow.
Since 2000 Serge Sorokko Gallery has been publishing photography. Among the projects Serge Sorokko Editions has undertaken are the BAM Photography Portfolios I, II and III, featuring such artists as Richard Avedon, Vanessa Beecroft, William Eggleston, Richard Prince, Candida Höfer, Nan Goldin, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman and Thomas Struth among others.
The Serge Sorokko Gallery is located at 55 Geary Street in San Francisco and can be visited online at www.sorokko.com. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Telephone: 415 421-7770.
