Cory Hunter is an artist and electrical engineer from Miami, Florida that uses artificial lightning to create completely unique pieces of art. It works through a process he calls “Electro-fractal Painting” where electricity is passed across the surface of a material that wouldn’t normally conduct electricity like wood, paper, or plastic. As the power of the electricity increases to a high enough level, the non-conductive material begins to breakdown, and slowly a tree-like pattern burns its way through the material. Using this process he makes totally one-of-a-kind wooden sunglasses that feature his trademark burns on each hand-sanded temple.
For the past 6 years Hunter has exhibited art around Miami and South Florida, doing live demonstrations of his technique at venues like Art Basel and the Wynwood Art walk. But It wasn’t until last year, however, that he began to shift his focus from large paintings to a smaller canvas, custom wooden sunglasses. After an incredibly successful online crowd-funding campaign on the popular kickstarter.com, he created a brand centered on the idea of completely unique eyewear. “Each piece of wood has its own pattern” Hunter explains, “Just like a fingerprint.”
But Hunter’s interest for sunglasses didn’t begin with his Kickstarter campaign, It actually started much earlier working for a popular online retailer: shadesdaddy.com. At the time, he was doing web design for the E-commerce business, uploading photos and working with large distributers. It was here that he was exposed to the vast arena of Sunglass design, from Dolce & Gabbana to Ray Ban, all the hottest fashions of sunglasses passed his desk onto the online marketplace. After leaving the business to continue his education in Electrical engineering, he thought “If I can make these awesome paintings with my technique, why not produce artwork that people can actually wear?”
All of Hunter’s sunglasses are handmade in by a small manufacturer in Europe. Exotic wood like Palisander, Ziricote, and Padouk is responsibly sourced from neighboring countries, where it is then shaped down and formed into super durable laminates; thin pieces of wood glued together to form a strong Ply material. Once Hunter receives the frames he finishes them using his burning technique, growing electric trees onto each wooden temple. Next, the wood is sealed with a waterproof coating to ensure the durability and longevity of each frame. High-quality stainless steel spring hinges and top of the line TAC UV400 Polarized lenses also come standard on each pair.
You can catch Cory Hunter doing his thing every month at the Wynwood art walk, the city’s premier art district. His work is featured regularly at WYN 317 and the LAB Wynwood. Or you can wait till this years Art Basel in December where he will, no doubt, be providing an exciting show for an international audience. A limited edition of Hunter’s current sunglass designs are on sale now at shadesdaddy.com. Get your pair of these Shocking frames today!
De La Cruz
De La Cruz
The Commodore
The Wynwood
