ARTmonday: Hunt Slonem

Artist Hunt Slonem, who was born in Kittery, is best known for his paintings of tropical birds, though he also does butterflies and bunnies. His bird paintings are often based on the 30-100 birds of various species that he keeps in his own aviary at his studio.

DTR Modern Galleries, a fine art gallery specializing in modern and contemporary masters, which is on Newbury Street in Boston (with additional locations in Palm Beach, D.C., and NYC) represents Hunt Slonem, and often has his work in the window. It’s around the corner from the elementary school my son went to, as well right next to Starbucks, so I’ve seen it often.

Earlier this year, Victor Oliveira, the former Retail Operations Director at the ICA Store, emailed me to say he’d landed at DTR Modern Galleries as a, and that I should come by. Now that temps have thawed, and I’ve taken to wandering the neighborhood again, I did. Not just because I wanted to say hi, but because I was quite drawn to the cockatoo painting in the window.

Turns out there’s currently a Hunt Slonem show at DTR Modern. This Friday, May 16 is the opening reception, and Slonem will be there to celebrate his new work and his new book, Bunnies. (The gallery sent me home with a copy, so I’ll have to go back to have it signed.) Many of the pieces were already hung, so I took plenty of photos, below. I’ve added images of other new pieces here too.

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Fruit Doves & Conures, 2013, oil on panel

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Golden Butterflies, 2014, oil on panel

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Lories, 2013, oil on canvas (detail)

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Untitled (Aviary), 2014, oil on panel

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Catelayas, 2013, oil on canvas

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White Bunny, 2013, oil on canvas

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Metallic Bunnies, 2013, oil on canvas

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Purple Bunnies, 2013, oil on canvas

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