Steel Mountains And Metal Dreams
“Richard Hunt, a Chicago-based sculptor whose works date back to the 1950s, has been selected as the public artist for Charlotte’s Romare Bearden Park,” the Charlotte Obsever reports.
Hunt is planning a work of welded stainless steel called “Memory Place” for the park, which is still under construction.
For those not familiar with him, Hunt just happens to be an internationally renown local legend with works all around the country. Let’s take a look.
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“Hunt began his career in 1955 as a student at the Art Institute of Chicago,” the Observer notes. “His first large-scale public art commission came in 1967. In the 45 years since, he has received more than 100 commissions across the United States and has been the recipient of Guggenheim, Ford and Tamarind fellowships.
“He was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson as one of the first artists to the governing board of the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2009, Hunt was the recipient of the International Sculpture Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award.”
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“Hunt has completed more public sculptures than any other artist in the country,” according to Wikipedia.
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His studio.
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His website.
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“It’s astonishing the way the award-winning Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt makes stainless steel seem light and fanciful. His sculptures appear to defy gravity as they soar into the heavens,” Dawn Turner Trice wrote for the Tribune in August.
“Hunt’s large-scale public art projects can be found throughout the Chicago area and beyond, including Oasis, a welded bronze, brass, copper and stainless-steel installation at Stroger Hospital.
“There’s also the steel ‘mountain’ in Memphis that honors the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. It’s made out of the same rust-colored Corten steel as the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza. Another project, a lithe and jagged metal tower, is in Augusta, Ga., and celebrates the historic Springfield Baptist Church, which turned 225 years old this month.
“Now, the Ida B. Wells Commemorative Art Committee has commissioned Hunt to create a monument to civil rights pioneer Ida B. Wells. This year marks the 150th anniversary of her birth.”
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The Ida B. Wells Monument.
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Discussing his work before a gallery show in 2009.
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Applewood Estates in Flint, Michigan.
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Build a Dream in Newport News.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on December 21, 2012