Column: New Richard Hunt exhibit takes the measure of the artist and the man

Chicago Tribune

7 days ago

Sharing a floor gallery space with a Sister Jean made of Legos is one of the most important exhibitions of any season, a compelling display of the work of the late Richard Hunt, captured and celebrated with style and substance.
It does not, can not, show the work for which Hunt was most famous, the gigantic metal sculptures that dot the country. There are 160-some of these here and elsewhere, a number that makes Hunt the artist with more public sculptures and monuments in the U.S. than any other.
But this is a show that allows you a more intimate encounter with the man and his work. 'Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt' is set to remain through Nov. 15 in the handsome Loyola University Museum of Art, tucked behind the Water Tower at on Michigan Avenue.
This is a second stop for this show, which opened last year at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, sparked by an idea from the state's first lady, MK Pritzker. Hunt did not see it. He died on Dec. 16, 2023. But he knew it was coming and he must have been proud, and likely would be if he could see the show, for in addition to his sculptures (some large ones are represented by maquettes, which are smaller, draft models of the proposed sculpture), it provides a measure of the man.
Hunt's official biographer Jon Ott writes, 'Richard Hunt's sculptures are the outgrowth of his lived experience,' and the proof is at LUMA.
He was born on Sept. 12, 1935, the youngest of two children. His father was a barber who ran a shop on the South Side. His mother was a beautician and librarian. They were influential, allowing Richard to partake in the heavily political barbershop conversations and nurturing his love of reading.
Hunt's artistic talent manifested early in drawings he made as a child. He enrolled in the Junior School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he soon received his initial training in sculpture. By 1950, he had carved a studio in his bedroom, and began working with clay and wire, creating such forms as animals and circus performers. In a few years, his studio expanded to the basement.
At age 19, he and his family attended the 1955 funeral of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy from the neighborhood, who returned to Chicago, his mother, Mamie, said, 'in a pine box, so horribly battered and waterlogged that someone needed to tell you this sickening sight is your son.'
He had been beaten to death and his mother made the brave decision to have an open casket, and so tens of thousands saw Emmett's battered body. Some people prayed, some fainted and all, men, women and children, wept.
Richard Hunt was there and was changed forever.
Ott writes that seeing Till's body and attending his funeral 'would alter the trajectory of Hunt's artistic expression. … Before long, he would devote himself to civil rights and creating art that expressed the critical need for human freedom and social justice.'
He created 'Hero's Head' in 1956 and it is a chilling and haunting part of the LUMA show, a small head made of scrap metal. It was one of Hunt's first welded metal pieces, having taught himself to weld because there was no such training available at the SAIC.
He worked and he worked. Awards came his way, and praise. And in 1971, when he was 35, he became the first Black sculptor to have a solo exhibition in the 42-year-long history of New York's Museum of Modern Art.
Married three times, he worked and worked, much of that taking place at the former electrical substation on Lill Avenue that would be his studio for more than 50 years, a place where he also mentored other artists and sometimes spent nights on a mattress on the floor in the unheated, un-air-conditioned space. This sort of biographical information is available in the spectacular book that accompanies the exhibition.
At the exhibit, you will see films screened on a couple of walls, one of Hunt from long ago, being interviewed in his massive studio by Studs Terkel. In the other, former president Barack Obama is touting his coming center/library and praising Hunt.
You will see a wall of books that were once part of his extensive and eclectic personal library. You also get to view the tools of Hunt's distinctive trade.
This really is a show for everybody, especially for those who might never have known of Hunt, who lacked the self-promotion gene that many artists possess.
The museum staff is knowledgeable and helpful.
'This is one of the most significant and ambitious exhibitions LUMA has participated in,' says Kyle Mathers, museum manager and curator. 'We knew it would be challenging, but Hunt's connection to Loyola and the significance of his work were well worth testing our ability to host an exhibition of this size and scope. This is a great way to celebrate the museum's 20th anniversary.'
The museum coordinator is Hannah Luchtenburg. 'I so wish I was able to meet Mr. Hunt before he passed. Everyone I've met who knew him has said the same thing to me: 'Did you ever meet Richard? He was the most kind, humble, genuine man,'' she says. 'But I already knew this to be true upon visiting his incredible Lill Avenue studio; the building itself is a historic gem, but it was clear Richard had created a true community over the five decades in the space. He makes me proud to be a Chicagoan, a South Sider, at that. The impact of Hunt's art is global, the evident themes of struggle, freedom and pursuit of justice in his sculpture are universal. But I think Chicagoans will feel a special appreciation and tie to Hunt and his work; his personal history is Chicago history. I do feel I've gotten to 'know' Richard in some small way.'
Like I said, Hunt would have been proud.