Over his seven-decade career, Chicago native Richard Hunt (1935 – 2023) became one of the nation’s most prolific public sculptors, creating 160 large-scale commissions in 24 different states and Washington, D.C. Made of welded and cast steel, aluminum, copper and bronze, his abstract creations often resemble natural forms, whether plant or animal.
Often seen as a post-Black artist, Hunt in fact promotes ideals of freedom and equality through his work. His career spanned the length of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements into modern-day campaigns for social justice, and many of his monuments commemorate historic figures such as Emmett Till, Ida B. Wells and Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridging the gap between abstract art and the Black experience, he intertwines inspiration from his ancestry and identity with that from history, mythology and spirituality.
The Georgia Museum of Art first published “Richard Hunt: Synthesis” in 2018, in conjunction with a retrospective exhibition of the same name. When the catalogue went out of print, there was an opportunity to refine and expand its content.
The second edition removes the original chronology and lists of collections, commissions and exhibitions — information now available within the artist’s major monograph (“Richard Hunt,” 2022) or online — in favor of new scholarship and new images.
Jon Ott, executive director of the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation, which supported the publication, examines the artist’s connections to the American South. Nijah Cunningham, assistant professor of English at Hunter College, City University of New York, explores Hunt’s lesser-known practice as a printmaker. The Georgia Museum holds a significant collection of Hunt’s prints, and while space limitations prevented us from displaying them in full in the exhibition, this edition allows us to present them comprehensively for the first time. The new edition also includes an edited transcript of the conversation between Hunt and curator Shawnya L. Harris on the opening night of his exhibition at the museum. Anyone who already owns the first edition will also want a copy of this new one.
180 pages; $29.99 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781946657169
Publishing Date: July 2026
If you are interested in a review copy of the book, contact: Hillary Brown, hazbrown@uga.edu, 706.542.1817.
Authored by:
Hillary Brown
