Hunter Potter is a multi-disciplinary artist who creates whimsical paintings and sculptures that comment on the minutiae of daily life. Based in New York, he is currently exhibiting a new body of work, entitled, “Gimme Shelter” at Ross + Kramer Gallery in East Hampton.
“Gimme Shelter” examines Potter’s coming of age living in Upstate New York as a full-time roofer. He nostalgically uses these memories to create characters he described in a statement with the gallery as “some of the hardest working, most innovative, and resilient men [he] could imagine.”
Roofing is the epitome of blue-collar work, according to Potter, where you’re quite literally putting a roof on someone’s head. “You learn what the sun is capable of as it blisters your back and forearms while you provide delightful and waterproof shade for the customer,” he added. As nostalgic and light-hearted as the show genuinely is, it also details the inherent dangers that are involved, noting a near-fatal accident he endured with a team of roofers in 2010.
The exhibition features a number of new paintings and tools that have been turned into sculptures, such as Hammerhead and Misery Loves Company. “Gimme Shelter” is on view at Ross + Kramer gallery in East Hampton until October 15.
Ross + Kramer
66 Newtown Ln,
East Hampton, NY 11937
