Hunter Biden’s Paintings – How Did Hunter Biden Start Painting?

Is Hunter Biden selling art? Was Hunter Biden an “undiscovered” artist? How much does his art sell for? Attorney, lobbyist, and recent controversial artist Hunter Biden made his professional debut at a Manhattan gallery in 2021, which sparked critical questions about the nature of his work in light of its pricing and political context. In this article, we will introduce you to some of Hunter Biden’s artwork, including an introduction to the artist, his work in the art sphere, and the important issues and concerns raised since his debut. If the intersections between politics, art, and the influence of each sector on each other interest you, then read on!

Who Is Robert Hunter Biden?

You may certainly be familiar with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the way that politicians in the Western historical context have represented the faces of American leadership. Any family in the White House has had to keep up with specific codes of living for the sake of public appearance, respect, and trust for the position. The Bidens have no doubt had to do the same. In any case, you may have heard of the president’s son, Robert Hunter Biden (b. 1970), who is the president’s second son and is currently an attorney and practicing artist who appears to find himself at the center of investigations, allegations, and political and art controversy. Since the dawn of civilization, humans have been practicing art in many forms. This means that anyone carries the ability to flex their creativity, yet the politics of art-making become convoluted, strategic, and contextualized when it comes to professional practice in the 21^st century.

Artists without close political affiliations to major public figures do not make the headlines as quickly as those who do and, in this case, Hunter Biden’s self-introduction into the art world came as a considerable shock to the Western art world.

Hunter Biden’s Art

Is Hunter Biden selling art? Hunter Biden is not only making and selling art, but he is also the subject of artistic controversy. It is also important to note that the artist is currently one of the most public figures at the moment as he finds himself in the middle of “political warfare” and allegations concerning his laptop, which was left at a repair shop in 2019 and never collected. The laptop was turned in to the FBI after Rudy Giuliani, the shop owner, discovered the alleged evidence, which places the Biden family under serious risk of defamation and a storm of mistrust in the public eye. Hunter Biden was accused of housing information on the laptop, which allegedly contained details on international business dealings that may have influenced US foreign policy while Joe Biden was serving as the vice president.

The name Hunter Biden is most closely associated with scandalous information found on a laptop alleged to have belonged to him; Stock-photo 

The case of the laptop first appeared one month before the presidential election in 2020 and has since been at the forefront of Republicans’ points of inquiry into the Bidens. Well, can you truly separate the art from political affiliation, not to mention the added fuel of controversial political topics? In 2020, an article was published by the New York Times, which claimed Hunter Biden to be an “undiscovered artist”, and showcased some of his new paintings. Hunter Biden’s art show was initially a private event hosted by his gallery, Georges Bergès Gallery, in 2021 in Los Angeles and later in New York. The pot was stirred when his paintings were released for sale at questionable prices, with works priced at up to $500,000 – per artwork.

Below, we will dive deeper into the artwork and context surrounding one of the most circulated names of 2023, Hunter Biden.

Hunter Biden’s Paintings: The Knot of Art, Ethics, and Politics

As you can imagine, and for an artist who is very much in the public eye of politics and public justice, Hunter Biden’s art show definitely had art critics raise their eyebrows through the roof. In addition to the private event, there were also many interesting points raised on the issues surrounding Hunter Biden’s lack of transparency and immersion into the general art space. Below, we will take a look at some of the artist’s paintings while touching on the issues raised in light of the artist’s entry into the art world.

#2 (side A and B) (2021)

#2 (side A and B) was part of Biden’s series of abstract paintings highlighting his spiritual journey of transcendence from a troubled past and struggle with the pressure to maintain a stellar reputation in the public eye. The abstract paintings were criticized for reflecting both the artist’s skill in using color as a tool to evoke the cosmos while on the other end of the spectrum, other critics remark that people who purchase Biden’s artworks are essentially buying “a brush with a name”.

#2 (side A and B) also resembles origami or Japanese paper-folded structures and contain a seemingly random mixture of geometric shapes with circular and sinuous features. Biden also used a similar palette to represent the geometric structures yet Side B of #2 appears unfinished as it lacks the same detail presented on the other side. Observing the artwork on its own, one might conveniently categorize Biden’s work as abstract with elements of decorative motifs but the works do not entirely convey a specific message on their own.

The viewer is thus plunged into confusion or perhaps presented with an imagined psychedelic world as seen through Biden’s spiritual journey.

According to reports, when Hunter Biden was questioned about the sale of his paintings, he made clear his intention for people to see that he was okay and, in fact, “doing great”. His intention behind creating was filled with the desire to spark hope and achieve a sense of self-fulfillment via a “journey back to self”. It seemed that after his reaction to the many controversial headlines and critical articles on his work from multiple experts in the art industry, Biden was quite comfortable with the idea of making art for himself while “overachieving” in the very private sales department.

Hunter Biden’s art gallery, Georges Bergès Gallery, presents his work as “ranging from photogenic to mixed media and then abstract”, which promotes his diverse approach to presenting his emotions but does not emphasize his approach to the medium or subject. His works were also presented as “unique experiences”, which seemed uncritical and generic from a curatorial standpoint. Yet, one cannot judge the manner of the presentation without considering the actual context of production. This also includes the artist’s background, intention, and process, which originally traverse themes of trauma, a struggle with addiction to substances and drugs, as well as the artist’s personal life history and socio-political pressure of being “Hunter Biden”.

Haiku Series #11 (c. 2021 – 2022)

When looking at Biden’s Haiku Series, one might immediately recognize the influence of Japanese woodblock printing with Art Nouveau decorative elements reminiscent of the work of Gustav Klimt as well as Pointillist techniques. His series demonstrates his inner turmoil of being caught between a state of needing to control the subtle tone of the image that emerges via Pointillism and the freedom from the control of form through abstraction and repetition of circles – which again, reminds one of Yayoi Kusama’s dots.

It is unclear whether Biden was inspired by the works of popular Modern and Contemporary artists or why Japanese art styles seem to dominate his painting, but it is evident that his repetition of themes such as growth, an intense focus on the microscopic “spore-like” structures, visible roots, and fluctuating uses of color, reflects his inner world, which is sometimes clear and other times muddled in confusion.

According to a statement by Bergès, Biden was compared to the other artists represented by the gallery and was labeled a historical figure who had no choice but to accept his public persona. The gallery also directly acknowledged Biden in light of his political and “historical” position, which the art market has surprisingly “responded in kind”. In essence, Biden was presented as a historical figure, which elevated his standpoint among other artists who would have had to push their exposure ten times as hard to achieve the same level of success.

This presents important questions around the blatant acknowledgment of bestowing a sense of grandiosity to politically complicated figures as well as the neglective approach to which the gallery essentially prioritized an artist before his history in art was even complete. The complexity of the situation does highlight one thing – that to approach art with a mindset of a need to “achieve success in the art market”, one must treat art like a business and sell as best as one can, regardless of the consequence or message that the gallery puts out for itself. This also raises questions about the results of selling a Hunter Biden painting as a potential historical collectible and placing the artist’s background on a pedestal, instead of valuing the artistic process, concept, and consistency in execution.

The Hunter Biden painting pricing issue was certainly a matter of redirecting value and strategizing for the sake of a win-win situation between a gallery and an artist.

Untitled (c. 2022)

Walter Shaub, a former head of the Office of Government Ethics under Barack Obama’s administration, shed some light on the issues that were raised regarding the artist’s practice concerning his father’s presidency and the criticism that arose from the public concerning Hunter Biden’s paintings in 2020. Shaub believed that the White House’s transparency on the buyers of Biden’s artwork was based on a blind trust that the public had to buy under the guise of the government honoring its secrets and maintaining its ethics.

At the end of 2022, Untitled, a famous painting by Hunter Biden, was promoted on the gallery’s social media page. The painting was part of Biden’s second solo exhibition at the gallery, which Biden believed was better received than his debut.

The exhibition also revealed that Untitled was valued at the same price as a house ($225,000) with two potential buyers, according to the New York Post’s sources. Biden’s previous exhibition received offers that ranged from $75,000 up to $500,000 for works that increased in scale. Since then, Biden has been labeled as a “president Biden’s scandal-scarred son” who no doubt stirred issues of ethics and transparency given his position and father’s history with former president Donald Trump. Hunter Biden is not considered a government employee and thus does not have to distance himself from his art sales, yet the issue became complex due to the presidency running under the promise of ethics and transparency.

Critical Insights on Hunter Biden’s Artwork

At present, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability continues to pursue its investigation into Hunter Biden’s practice of ethics while under the representation of Georges Bergès, his art dealer. The committee’s chairman sent a letter to Bergès, which pointed out the issue of his involvement in Biden’s ethics and affiliation with the Biden family in leveraging their name and influence to conduct “lucrative transactions”.

Concerns around the issue of Biden’s artwork linked to his family name and subsequent success in selling his work could result in an “influence-buying of the Bidens”.

One might also question the seemingly sudden entry of Hunter Biden into the art world as an “undiscovered artist”, given his reputation, very public personal history, and lack of publicity around the one private aspect of his life, his art practice. What truly transpired regarding the introduction of Biden onto the New York art scene is complex and requires a breakdown of multiple factors.

Hunter Biden as a child, (c. 1980s); See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In defense of his work, Biden claimed that he already had proof that he was an artist more than 20 years ago, stating that he had several paintings in the gallery basement serving as “proof” of his practice. One might then argue, “well, why does an artist have to prove that he is an artist?” The truths could be pinpointed in the definition of what makes an artist a professional practicing artist versus a high-profile individual who has every right, as does anyone, to call themselves an artist, yet choose to “practice” in the public eye for recognition and the purpose of unveiling “universal truths”.

Psychoanalysts may find Biden’s reasons for opening up to the public for sharing his idea of universal truths somewhat interesting given his many years of being scrutinized for “mistakes” as a president’s son. On the other hand, art critics may focus on the dangers of putting Hunter Biden’s work on a pedestal, begging politicians to notice one of the major pillars of the humanities and any controversial artist, ethics.

Politicians as the authorities of power through the influence of word and media will demand transparency given that the role of the artist does not exist in a bubble safe from the rest of the world. Given that Hunter Biden has been the subject of investigation concerning financial operations with Ukraine and China, one might question the intention of his collectors. Why would collectors be interested in ideas of self-reflection in Biden’s work? If the intersections between Biden’s exposure to controversy, political scandal, and art scandal in the current historical context interested you, then surely, its appeal would have easily been romanticized by Biden’s collectors.

Hunter Biden’s experience and entry into the art world were just as chaotic as his current experience in the world before his professional practice. It is clear, however, that Biden’s example has presented new challenging discourses from which art historians, scholars, art critics, and spectators of the global art world can begin to unpack. The interventions that occur in the crossfire of politics, ethics, and the business side of the art world are crucial to the future of understanding the nature of the art market and who is willing to buy what from who. We hope that this article has been informative and has kickstarted your interest in the story. Only time will tell the future of Hunter Biden’s artwork and its impact on the Western art community.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Is Hunter Biden?

Hunter Biden is an American attorney and Contemporary artist, who is also the son of the United States 46th president, Joe Biden.

Why Is Hunter Biden a Controversial Artist?

Hunter Biden is considered to be a controversial artist for many reasons related to his past dealings outside of the art world, as well as the pricing of his work, which seems to rely on his position as a public figure associated with Joe Biden, the current President of the United States. Biden has been criticized for his artistic skill and approach to selling his artwork, which has also had an impact on the reputation of the Biden family. Hunter Biden was under investigation by the FBI for allegations of evidence showing his participation in questionable financial dealings.

What Is Hunter Biden’s Art Style?

Hunter Biden’s art style is reflected in abstraction, geometrical shapes, and decorative elements, which are considered part of the Contemporary art genre. His work deals with self-exploration, identity, trauma, and his desire to express universal truths. Hunter Biden’s art style is identifiable through popular motifs such as flowers, spheres, Pointillist elements, and flat negative spaces.

Jordan Anthony( Content Editor, Art Writer, Photographer )

Jordan Anthony is a Cape Town-based film photographer, curator, and arts writer. She holds a Bachelor of Art in Fine Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where she explored themes like healing, identity, dreams, and intuitive creation in her Contemporary art practice. Jordan has collaborated with various local art institutions, including the KZNSA Gallery in Durban, the Turbine Art Fair, and the Wits Art Museum. Her photography focuses on abstract color manipulations, portraiture, candid shots, and urban landscapes. She’s intrigued by philosophy, memory, and esotericism, drawing inspiration from Surrealism, Fluxus, and ancient civilizations, as well as childhood influences and found objects. Jordan is working for artfilemagazine since 2022 and writes blog posts about art history and photography.

Learn more about Jordan Anthony and about us.