Called a Neo-Expressionist,Hunt Slonem inserts realism into his Abstract Expressionism.He combines Abstract Expressionist techniques with mysticismand animal subjects of Islam and Mexico and is best known forhis paintings of tropical birds, based on a personal aviaryin which he keeps about 100 live birds of various species.

Born in Kittery Maine, he spent his childhood in various statesincluding California, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Virginiaand Washington because his father was in the Navy. During college,he lived in Mexico and Nicaragua, and these cultures much influencedhis art. He studied art at Vanderbilt and Tulane and spent asummer at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. In1972, he moved to New York and started using Nicaraguan holycards as subject matter for paintings, and he has continuedto do paintings of Saints. In the 1980s, after three trips toIndia, his work became more formal and complex in composition.He started using hatch marks in 1988. He builds patterns ofrepeat images of the bird subject and paints them in recognizablesettings such as cages. He also paints the human figure, someof them based on photos of Valentino. His work came on the avant-gardeart scene when he moved to New York. There he did some huge,panoramic murals including an 85-foot long frieze for the BryantPark Grill. His focus is on the act of painting, and he doesnot strive to convey a narrative message. He paints quickly,and often his colors are jarring; he is fascinated by the manipulationof paint. He usually begins by filling in a canvas with onecolor, then blocks in other hues, adds the animals or figures,and then the hatched scratch marks.