Michael Hunt was conceived at the original Woodstock Festival and born in Honesdale, PA - the birthplace of the American railroad - in 1970. He currently lives and works in Woodstock, New York.
Michael is self-taught with no formal art education. His works of paintings, posters and sculptures are known as Cosmic American Art - an outsider hybrid of Pop & Folk Art - which explore the limits and myths of the American Dream. "Cosmic American" is a phrase created by groundbreaking 70s country rock icon Gram Parsons to describe his music, a "oneness through song."
His posters follow the form of the sign making process, bringing his pop culture influenced blend of text over distorted landscapes using contemporary sign making tools and materials.
Hunt's primary painting medium is sandblasted redwood. The technique was learned at his family's sign company in Pennsylvania. The redwood was purchased from a “Mom & Pop” lumberyard which bids on naturally felled California redwood trees.
After earning a B.A. in International Studies from Hofstra University, Hunt worked as a mover, truck driver, an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in New York's Lower East Side, a mailroom supervisor at Miramax Films and for the 2000 United States Census.
Michael has shown in over fifty group shows in North America including CBGB’s 313 Gallery in New York City and the Wynwood Arts District Tour at Basel Miami 2004. Hunt's sculpture "Heavenly Beatles" was auctioned by Sotheby's.com in 2002. He successfully exhibited his work in two solo shows at Zeke's Gallery in Montreal. Michael is the 2013 Artist-in-Residence at Woodstock's Varga Gallery.
