Hunt Slonem Returns to New York City With First Exhibition in Five Years

The celebrated neo-expressionist brings his famous rabbits, butterflies, birds and brilliant color to One Art Space in Tribeca for “Through the Looking Glass,” on view through Sept. 28.

Hunt Slonem’s unmistakable world of rabbits, butterflies, tropical birds and saturated color is back in New York City.

The celebrated American neo-expressionist artist has returned for his first New York City exhibition in five years with “Through the Looking Glass,” now on view at One Art Space in Tribeca.

The exhibition brings together paintings and sculpture spanning Slonem’s signature visual vocabulary, from monumental butterfly canvases to the rabbit paintings that have become among his most recognizable works.

Hunt Slonem Fiona Ireland 2025. Photo: Hunt Slonem, One Art Space

At its center is “Pink Ascension” (2021), a monumental 77-by-101-inch oil on canvas in which butterflies drift across a luminous pink field, transforming one of Slonem’s most enduring subjects into an enveloping study of rhythm, repetition and movement.

Hunt Slonem Pink Ascension 2021. Photo: Hunt Slonem, One Art Space

At the other end of the scale is “Blue Hutch” (2025), a 20-by-24-inch oil on wood depicting a gathering of Slonem’s instantly recognizable rabbits against a vivid blue ground. Presented within an ornate frame, the work captures the playful tension that runs throughout Slonem’s practice: spontaneous brushwork and seemingly simple subjects placed within compositions that feel at once contemporary, decorative and almost devotional.

Hunt Slonem Blue Hutch 2025. Photo: Hunt Slonem, One Art Space

Those works establish the poles of a broader exhibition that ranges across Slonem’s visual vocabulary.

Butterflies emerge repeatedly in works including “Red Sea Migration III” (2026), “Silver Ascension Travel Tomorrow” (2022) and “White Ascension (August Moon)” (2026), while his celebrated rabbits multiply across canvases and smaller works such as “Blue Rhapsody Diamond Dust” (2023), “Totem Fluffle” (2026) and “Pink Pair” (2026).

The exhibition also extends beyond painting to include Slonem’s sculptural work, reflecting the breadth of a practice in which familiar forms are continually revisited through changes in scale, material, color and surface.

Hunt Slonem Rafflesia 2023. Photo: Hunt Slonem, One Art Space

“There is something almost jewel-like about Hunt Slonem’s artistry — the color, texture and repetition, from his bunnies to his butterflies and beyond, draw you in,” said MaryAnn Giella McCulloh, curator and co-owner of One Art Space. “Beneath that beauty lies a deeper visual language, where nature, imagination, color and mystery become one. ‘Through the Looking Glass’ is an invitation into his extraordinary world.”

Hunt Slonem Diamond Dust 2023. Photo: Hunt Slonem, One Art Space

Repetition is fundamental to Slonem’s work. Inspired by nature and the exotic birds with which he surrounds himself, the artist has spent decades returning to rabbits, butterflies and tropical birds, creating an immediately identifiable visual language characterized by textural brushwork, saturated color and repeated forms.

Slonem has described his fascination with patterns found throughout nature — from feathers and leaves to blades of grass — as central to that approach.

Of “Through the Looking Glass,” Slonem said: “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’s work is represented in the permanent collections of approximately 250 museums worldwide, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Joan Miró Foundation and New Orleans Museum of Art.

If You Go

Hunt Slonem: “Through the Looking Glass”
Opening reception: Thursday, Sept. 10, 6-9 p.m.
On view: Through Monday, Sept. 28
Where: One Art Space, 23 Warren St., Tribeca, New York City
Curator: MaryAnn Giella McCulloh
More information: HuntSlonem.com

Angela LaGreca

Editor, Co-Founder/Publisher

Angela LaGreca, Editor-in-chief and co-Founder/Publisher of Spark Hamptons, is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, writer and comedian/host. Her TV credits include NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “The View,” and, most recently, the primetime cable news program “Cuomo” on NewsNation. On the East End, she was the Creative Director at LTV, VP Features/Events/Photo Editor at Dan’s Papers, and has performed at Guild Hall, Bay Street Theater and the WHBPAC. Her publishing career began at Modern Photography, where she was managing editor. LaGreca lives in Manhattan and East Hampton and can be reached at angelatvmedia@gmail.com and angela@sparkhamptons.com .