Tom Hunter

Tom Hunter's meticulously composed, painterly tableaux function on various levels: for one, he references important paintings from art history; for another, he tells us stories of our time-stories that mainly take place in Hackney, the area of London where Hunter lives. What is perhaps his best-known painting is of a young woman in a setting that refers to Vermeer's Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window. However, Hunter's photo portrays Woman Reading a Possession Order-a neighbor from the squatter's scene who has just received an eviction notice. The work drew such attention from the media that the eviction ultimately never took place.With his eye for the unusual and exotic in everyday life, Hunter achieves impressive, surprising snapshots of life in Great Britain today.