There’s quite the buzz surrounding the show Curiouser and Curiouser, featuring the work of renowned artist Hunt Slonem. Through November 6, K Contemporary in Denver, Colorado, is displaying more than 200 pieces highlighting the artist’s iconic, neo-expressionist style. Slonem is  known for his depictions of nature and wildlife in the form of repeated scenes of bunnies, tropical birds and butterflies. The artwork in the show is be a continuation of this subject matter, but also includes new mediums such as neon, sculpture, glass, bronze and outdoor sculpture. K Contemporary display of Hunt Slonem’s work.

“Part of [Slonem] painting is about mantra, meditation and repetition of form that is part of his spiritual practice,” explains Doug Kacena, co-curator and owner of K Contemporary. “When you dive into Hunt, he is an enigma of a person. When you go into his studio, you are immersed in the experience of it. All the walls are painted in saturated color, there’s a collection of harps with no strings and tables dedicated to things like hundreds of photos with him alongside presidents and celebrities. Back where he paints, he has around 30 [pet] parrots. He has created this environment for which he lives and there’s a spirituality.”Comma Question Mark, oil on panel, 36 x 36"

Slonem is also known for his preservation of historic homes and his large collection of birds, exotic animals and tropical plants. “Nature has always been my source of inspiration, and is the one thing that reads as the divine in my life,” says Slonem. “Now more than ever, we need to revere it; with fires and the animals in Australia…I’m kind of saying, ‘Look at the best of this planet and honor it.’” Time spent in places like Hawaii and Nicaragua at a young age have helped shape Slonem’s career and build his persona as this “enigma.” Ocelots Blue Pearl Managuas, oil on canvas, 60 x 70"

Having more focus and extra time on his hands due to COVID lockdowns, Slonem has been revisiting older, earlier scenes.  However, sculptures in glass and metal are all new for him and serve as what Slonem describes as “a major breakthrough.”

Kacena and co-curator, Denver-based artist Jonathan Saiz, have been working hard to turn K Contemporary into a reimagining of Slonem’s studio and “how he exists in the world.” The three-story gallery space is transformed into sensational vignettes of historic rugs, colored vinyl covered windows, antique pieces and wall-to-wall pink; pink walls, chandeliers and chairs to match pieces such as Cerella, a neon pink bunny, and Pink Audrey Hepburn, a scene of repeated bunnies. “It’s like going down the road in Alice in Wonderland,” says Kacena. “We’re creating the context that is really important to see Hunt’s work.”Cerella, neon

There are a plethora of paintings that include work like Comma Question Mark, showing butterflies against a blue background. “[The title] is the name of butterflies I observed as a child,” says Slonem. “These are names that have become etched in my memory and [I] use them as titles for these compositions.” Slonem is known for his series of work that not only includes butterflies but also his iconic bunnies, monsoons and ocelots, a spotted wild cat. 

Viewers will see an example of this in Ocelots Blue Pearl Managuas. “Ocelots entered my life when I was 16, living in Nicaragua,” Slonem explains. “I was mesmerized visually by their grace and pattern, and it’s an image that represents spiritual authority. The blue pearl is what you see at eye level during meditation.”

Curiouser and Curiouser is an intoxicating, immersive experience that Kacena says is “a K Contemporary twist on Hunt’s universe.” —

K Contemporary
1412 Wazee Street • Denver, CO 80202
(303) 590-9800 • www.kcontemporaryart.com 

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