Anthony Hunter is a British painter born in 1987 in Lancashire, England. He graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in 2009 from the ‘Contemporary Art Course’, where he worked collaboratively on painting and performance with his twin brother, James Hunter.
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After graduating, Anthony and his brother landed a job sitting for Damien Hirst at the exhibition 'POP LIFE' at Tate Modern, London, which involved them sitting underneath a pair of Hirst’s spot paintings. Following this they both became painting assistants for an unknown employer, and when this turned out to be Damien Hirst, a year later they were painting the spots rather than sitting beneath them.
The artist’s recent series of abstract paintings are born from simply wanting to paint with freedom and fun, especially having painted in such a structured, repetitive way as a studio assistant. For Hunter, the process of painting is something that must always be enjoyed, and this mantra is reflected in the distinctive energy and movement to each painting.
Hunter describes abstract painting as something he has been interested in from his early years as an artist, drawing inspiration from painters such as Mark Rothko and Gerhard Richter. His works could be described as purely abstract painting, with no references to specific objects or scenes. Hunter paints instinctively, with his focus on the paint and the painting process itself. Working primarily on boards laid out horizontally in front of him, Hunter will start a painting with no preconceptions, allowing the process to take control and shape the final results.
As well as creating large fields of colour, Hunter also accents each painting with blobs and drips of paint that appear to have a life of their own, weaving and dancing on the surface of the painting. Yet Hunter carefully considers the placement of these seemingly random elements - thinking about each mark or line, where it is placed, its size and colour. While he does not plan his paintings before he creates them, they are never completely unintentional. This can be a confusing dichotomy when considering Hunter’s work: they are experimental as well as designed, spontaneous whilst also considered - a kind of controlled chaos.