The unmistakable world of artist Hunt Slonem has arrived in downtown Manhattan, where rabbits, butterflies, birds and bursts of color are taking center stage at One Art Space in Tribeca.
“Through the Looking Glass,” Slonem’s first New York City exhibition in recent years, brings together works that reflect the neo-expressionist artist’s longtime fascination with nature, repetition, movement and color. The exhibition runs through Sept. 28 at One Art Space, 23 Warren St.
Curated by One Art Space co-owner MaryAnn Giella McCulloh, the exhibition features works spanning Slonem’s distinctive artistic vocabulary, including paintings decorated with his signature creatures and expressive use of color.
Among the featured pieces is “Pink Ascension,” a monumental 77-by-101-inch oil on canvas from 2021. Butterflies appear to drift across a luminous pink background, creating an immersive composition built around rhythm and movement.
“Blue Hutch,” a 2025 oil on wood measuring 20 by 24 inches, offers a more intimate presentation of one of Slonem’s best-known subjects: rabbits gathered against a vivid blue ground.
For Slonem, the exhibition explores an imaginative world beyond the visible.
“A dream of what I see through the looking glass, where my creatures go, where we cannot see them, following their wonder — wonderland and inspiration, the source of all my creativity. A joyous venture,” Slonem said of the exhibition.
The opening reception attracted an audience from New York’s art, fashion and social circles. Guests included Slonem, McCulloh, Mei Fung, William McCulloh, Patrick McMullan, Susan Gutfreund, Margo Langenberg, Jamie De Roy, Maribel Lieberman, Carmen D’Alessio, Keiko Aoki, Jean Shafiroff and Father Enrique Salvo, rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
McCulloh said the opening also generated strong sales, reflecting interest in Slonem’s work and his return to the New York exhibition scene.
Slonem has developed a visual language that draws heavily from the natural world. His paintings of rabbits, butterflies and tropical birds are known for their repetition, vivid hues and energetic brushwork. His creative practice has also extended to sculpture and the restoration of historic properties.
His work is represented in the permanent collections of approximately 250 museums worldwide, according to the exhibition organizers. Those collections include The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Joan Miró Foundation and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
“Through the Looking Glass” offers Tribeca visitors an opportunity to experience the recurring imagery that has made Slonem one of America’s recognizable contemporary neo-expressionist artists — and to step into a colorful world where nature, imagination and repetition meet.