Since opening its doors last fall, the Seimandi & Leprieur Gallery has almost primarily focused on art from the French-speaking Caribbean island of Martinique, the former home of its married directors. But the gallery deviates from that turf with the arrival of famed neo-expressionist painter Hunt Slonem, a seasoned New York–based artist best known for lavish depictions of bunnies, butterflies, and tropical birds.
Making his first appearance in Santa Barbara, Slonem will appear in the gallery on Friday, May 15, for a rare reception and book-signing. A small exhibition of his work, on one wall of the gallery, continues in the venue through June 7.
Born and raised in Maine, Slonem’s childhood was a roving one. His Navy officer father moved the family to several places in Hawai‘i and Central America, where Slonem was “influenced by the local devotion and spiritual fervor,” as he later explained.