Overview

• Richard Hunt, a pioneering sculptor known for his abstract works of bent metal and welded steel, has died at the age of 88 in his Chicago home.
• Hunt's sculptures, often seen in museums and public sites across the US, were known to evoke figures that transmute and grow, sometimes visualizing elements of Black history.
• Hunt was commissioned in 2022 to create a new work for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, set to open in 2025. The piece, titled 'Book Bird', will feature a bird perched atop a book, ready to take flight.
• Another forthcoming sculpture from Hunt, a 15-foot-tall work titled 'Hero Ascending', will be installed near the home of Mamie Till and her son Emmett Till, a Black Chicagoan teen who was lynched by a white mob in 1955.
• Hunt's work has been recognized and praised by many, including former President Obama who referred to him as 'one of the greatest artists Chicago ever produced.'