SAN ANTONIO, TX.- In partnership with the San Antonio Botanical Garden and the Mays Family Foundation, internationally acclaimed artist Hunt Slonem premiered his first major garden exhibition, Huntopia: Bunnies, Birds, & Butterflies. The exhibition, on view May 4 through November 3, 2024, at the San Antonio Botanical Garden, features larger than life outdoor sculptural installations emulating the lush and vibrant realm of Slonem’s work.

Across the Garden’s 38-acres, Huntopia includes a series of monumental pieces and installations thoughtfully curated with the San Antonio Botanical Garden. The exhibition’s debut celebrates Slonem’s lifelong dream to create an immersive and grand outdoor sculpture experience, marking a pivotal moment in his 50-year career.

“Botanical gardens fascinate me,” says Artist Hunt Slonem. “Nature is embedded in my soul, and I’m thrilled to have the lush canvas of a garden to mix my art with. It’s a project that I’ve wanted to do forever; this is the first time I’ve been able to produce work that will fulfill my dream!”

Huntopia began with the artist’s exploration of blown glass sculptures at his Seattle studio in 2020. Inspired by the sculptural glass manifestations of his beloved bunny muses, Slonem’s vision for an entirely new body of work quickly grew into an expansive new era of creativity. The four-year journey required the assistance of studio teams in New York and Seattle, as well as an international assembly of artisans and craftspeople. The artist’s iconic animal muses will manifest in colorful eruptions of sculptural play throughout the garden, taking visitors on a whimsical journey that evokes the wonder and reverence for nature that inspires the artist in his daily painting practice.

“Huntopia will fuse a dynamic interplay of art and nature, bringing a new dimension of Slonem’s unique vision to life in our Garden,” said Katherine Trumble, Interim CEO of the San Antonio Botanical Garden. “We are honored to showcase the world premiere of this one-of-a-kind exhibition!”

Ever inspired by nature, and his beloved pet birds, Slonem is renowned for his distinct neo-expressionist style and is best known for his series of bunnies, butterflies, and tropical birds as well as his large-scale sculptures and restorations of forgotten historic homes. Since 1977, Slonem has had more than 350 exhibitions at prestigious galleries and museums internationally and his work is in over eighty museum collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The recipient of many honors throughout his career, Slonem has been awarded the MacDowell Fellowship on three separate occasions, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Russian Academy of Art Medal of Merit. The artist resides in New York City.