‘Revisting History’ With Richard Hunt’s ‘Freedom in Form’ at LUMA 

Welded steel, cast bronze and scrap metal rise from the floor in abstract forms saturated with implied movement. Nearby, woven papers are home to lithograph prints riddled with divine visits alluding to suffering and a fight for freedom. 

Each piece becomes a reminder — asking its onlookers to consider the national struggle for freedom and hindered delivery of liberty to all.

This is “Freedom in Form,” Loyola University Museum of Art’s (LUMA) most recent exhibit which found its place inside Lewis Towers on Loyola’s Water Tower Campus in July. The exhibit displays over 70 years of Chicago native Richard Hunt’s most famous works. 

Across decades, Hunt garnered the ability to make metal move upward in sculptures that elevated thinking and turned urban materials into art. Bookending the start and finish to his career are two pieces in memory of his young neighbor, Emmett Till, who was murdered at 14 years old as a result of racial violence in 1955. 

An alum of the Art Institute of Chicago, Hunt taught himself to weld in the basement of his fathers barber shop — creating his first sculpture “Hero’s Head” out of welded steel as a homage to the late Till in 1956 — and cementing himself as an influential artist of the Civil Rights Movement.

The exhibit was originally developed by Ross Jordan for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, eventually being brought to LUMA where curators were able to form their own iteration of the exhibit, according to Kyle Mathers, LUMA museum manager and curator.

“Hunt was one of the most, if not the most prolific public sculptors,” Mathers said.

With over 170 solo exhibitions, Hunt’s work can be sought out across Chicago and in 125 museums worldwide, according to the exhibit. 

“Freedom in Form” showcases hundreds of Hunt’s pieces, spanning from his iconic sculptural wonders to his underrepresented lithograph drawings. Those who see the exhibit can also view the work bench and tools that were crucial in the art’s creation. 

“One of the most important narratives throughout this exhibit, and throughout Hunt’s life, is his participation in civil rights and his uplifting of Black voices and artists,” Mathers said. 

In 1971, Hunt became the first Black sculptor to be given a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, which provided him with the chance to influence museumgoers with his pieces on liberty and freedom for all. 

Ana Greggio-Escobar, a student worker at LUMA, said she believes Hunt’s work to be incredibly influential and crucial now more than ever.

“Right now I think it’s important to revisit history,” Greggio-Escobar said. “Especially through an artistic lens.”

“Freedom in Form” allows visitors to do just that, with four display rooms teeming with metal sculptures of bronze and steel all united by movement — a theme deeply rooted in Hunt’s art. 

The first room displays the genesis of Hunt’s art career. Featuring pieces made from scrap metal found in alleyways and junkyards, these sculptures mirror the urban metropolitan life Hunt was immersed in as a resident of Chicago’s South Side. 

Transformative pieces fill the brighter second space with organic forms made from cast bronze. These natural animalistic depictions are a part of Hunt’s “Hybrid Form” series and influenced by his time spent working in the Zoological Laboratory at the University of Chicago. 

Beyond lies towering geometric works of welded bronze with biblical allusions attached. One of these is “Arching,” a 1985 piece Hunt ended up posing with in the Simmie Knox painting “Portrait of Richard Hunt” in 1985.

This oil painting can be found in the farthest gallery room along with dozens of maquettes. The small-scale sculptural designs of Hunt’s large public works provide insight into the beginning stages of some of his most influential pieces.

Attached to this space is a collection of books from Hunt’s personal library, as well as a projection museumgoers are encouraged to watch to see the creation of his most notorious sculptures. 

As a former adjunct professor of the university, Hunt’s art has close ties to the Loyola community. Two sculptures, “Angled Angel” and “Sea Change”, can be found on Lake Shore Campus and one, “Hybrid Movement,” has made its permanent home in LUMA. 

Mathers said people around the country often see his works without even realizing. And with hundreds of public sculptures, it’s surprising to Mathers that he’s not more well known. 

Hunt had made the city of Chicago his art studio, leaving behind the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation, which strives to advance public awareness, education and appreciation of the arts, according to their website. 

The exhibit’s main goal is to tell the history of struggle and a commitment to artistic freedom, Mathers said.

“The history of Richard Hunt is, in a way, the history of Chicago,” Mathers said.  

“Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt” is on display at LUMA from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday through Nov. 15. Admission is free for Loyola students, faculty and staff.