Hip Bunny
Seimandi & Leprieur Gallery hosts Hunt Slonem
Written by Joan Tapper
Birds, bunnies, and butterflies are hardly unfamiliar creatures to residents of the Santa Barbara area, but they hold special significance for the renowned New York–based neo-expressionist artist HUNT SLONEM, whose vibrantly colored, textured, and patterned paintings of the animals are immediately recognizable and highly prized. Slonem has described his work as “Exotica,” creating joy and surprise through his evolving techniques while maintaining consistent themes over the past decade.
The artist stopped in at the Seimandi & Leprieur Gallery on May 15 to herald the opening of an exhibit of his work, which is in some 250 institutional collections worldwide, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Slonem chatted with guests, signed his books, and added some hand drawings of his iconic images, as gallery-goers at the intimate reception noshed on hors d’oeuvres and sipped wines from Rideau Vineyard.
Seimandi and Leprieur, which opened in fall 2025, has brought an international flavor to the downtown gallery scene with a focus on art from the Caribbean island of Martinique, former home of the French proprietors. The Hunt Slonem exhibit will be on view until June 7. 33 W. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara, seimandileprieur.com
