(LOVE & ARROWS I, II, 2016)

i just learned about the passing of lisa hunt, an amazingly talented artist from new york. while i never met her live, i enjoyed a long, winding conversation with her over the phone when we discussed her childhood and intriguing journey to becoming a prolific and inspiring artist. following is the resulting story. love and very best wishes to lisa’s family and friends. x0x0xx

lisa hunt’s journey to becoming an artist was full of serendipity and bravery. she was brought up in a family flush with creatives… her mother was from roxbury, massachusetts, just outside of boston and lisa’s grandparents and great aunts and uncles all resided on different floors of the same brownstone. when visiting, lisa and her sisters would go from the flat of her grandfather and his second wife, affectionately called aunt muriel, who were frequently listening to calypso music up to the flat of her great aunt edna, a commercial artist - each room of edna’s apartment was painted a different jewel toned color - the art studio, which housed a large drafting table and myriad jars of colored pencils, was a deep blue. finally, the girls might end up in the flat of her adored aunt kaye for a big family dinner. lisa’s mother, asha, having spent many years of her childhood in the brownstone where there was so much appreciation for beauty and the arts, was inherently creative and included lisa in her painting, drawing, sewing and crochet projects.

(asha hunt, lisa’s mother; photo courtesy of the artist)

(lisa’s elegant grandmother, muriel wilson; photo courtesy of the artist)

GREAT AUNT KAYE WILSON AT HER 100TH BIRTHDAY.jpeg

(lisa with her great aunt kaye on her 100th birthday; photo courtesy of the artist)

lisa’s father, james, was in the air force (she spent a big chunk of her childhood in aurora, colorado when he was stationed at lawry air force base) so the family moved a lot. shy as a child, lisa developed a strong interior world by profusely reading both books that took place in settings entirely different than her own and teen magazines… mademoiselle being a particular favorite. while she didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do as a career, lisa knew she was drawn to magazines and that she loved making and creating. her high school art teacher encouraged her to enroll in the local tech school, now called pickens technical college, where she took a two year, intensive course in commercial art and graphic design in addition to her regular school work.

post graduation lisa took a gap year in roxbury where she lived in the family brownstone and worked at a stationary store in cambridge to save up money for college. she began her studies at the pratt institute in the fine arts department in new york city the following fall of 1987, .

after leaving pratt, lisa began a storied magazine career that included world wide travel on press trips and shoots working both free lance gigs and staff jobs at a multitude of books: ny magazine, BET, heart and soul, glamour, cosmopolitan and even her beloved mademoiselle (lisa was brought to tears of joy and excitement the first time she entered their offices!) culminating as the creative director of essence, where she directed stories and photo shoots with beyonce, will smith, oprah and the obamas (both prior to his election where the family was photographed in the obamas’ chicago home and post election at the white house!) the height, elegance and strength of michelle obama reminded lisa of her own beloved mother.

(the obama family on the cover of essence during lisa’s tenure, september 2008)

(lisa with her mother, asha; photo courtesy of the artist)

in 2008, just after the financial crash, lisa decided that she wanted to return to her creative, “maker” roots. she bravely left her high level job at essence and started taking art classes again: printmaking, letter press, textile printing… she wanted to learn, explore and experiment, ultimately developing what is now the basis of her art.

lisa has always been enamored by graphic shapes and repeat patterns as found in textiles and wallpaper. inspired by art deco and traditional african batiks, she likes to play with scale and reinterpret the designs with a minimalist, modern approach. she re-imagines and abstracts classic symbols: palms, pomegranates, sonic coils, arrows and typographic elements and employs them with rhythmic, meditative repetition.

(POMEGRANATE LARGE REPEAT, 2016)

(ABSTRACT VARIOUS, 2017)

(ARROWS I, II, III, 2016)

(CROSS SECTIONS: UNTITLED 6, 2017)

(ROYAL PALM WINDOW II,III, 2016)

the use of gold is also integral to lisa’s designs. the metal is a personal touchstone… her glamorous grandmother wore stacks of gold bangles on her wrists and once returned from a trip to the caribbean with a gold bracelet for lisa when she was a little girl. she remembers how it reflected the light and retained warmth when she wore it. ever since, gold has been lisa’s “neutral” and favored adornment.

(lisa gold leafing; photo courtesy of the artist)

originally, lisa wanted to make textiles with her patterns pressed in gold, but she was dissatisfied with the resulting tone on the fabric. ultimately, a close friend from art school, kyle (who is now her dear husband), suggested she try gold leaf on paper. lisa had found her medium… actual 24 karat gold.

(gold leaf in process; photo courtesy of the artist)

in her pieces, the gold serves as a unifier where background becomes foreground and dynamism mingles with serenity. the reflective quality of the leaf shimmers and changes hue with the viewer’s perspective, imbuing her designs with movement and warmth.

(INFINITY DIPTYCH hung in a dining room; photo HBK photography)

lisa’s work has been exhibited at the texas contemporary art fair, plant 7 and the bernhardt furniture gallery at high point in north carolina, in new york city at the other art fair, the black artists + designers guild and at the architectural digest design show.

(lisa at the black artists + designers guild show; photo courtesy of the artist)

lisa began by making wall art, but more recently has been doing large scale installments, including the stunning macy’s flagship windows for black history month 2020.

(the full spread of the macy’s windows; photo bill waldorf)

(photo bill waldorf)

(photo bill waldorf)

(photo bill waldorf)

in january of this year, she and lori weitzner launched the reverie collection of wallpaper, a collaboration that brought lisa full circle to her original graphic inspiration of repeat patterns.