05/07/2026
During the 20th century when Black sculptors were expected to create figural works, artist Richard Hunt instead embraced abstraction. Beginning in the 1960s, Hunt was prolific in the public sculpture sphere, with over 160 commissions across 24 states. One major commission is at the Hunter!
We’re proud to have Hunt’s Spatial Interactions: Aerographic Forms and Cantilevered Confluence on view.
“Aerographic” refers to the study of the air or mapping the atmosphere, while the phrase “Cantilevered Confluence” contrasts images of rigid, structural elements with the fluidity of rivers and streams. Notice how the welded bronze twists and turns like water in motion. Hunt enjoyed exploring nature through industrial elements.
This piece was commissioned in the 1990s when the museum lobby was in a different location. In 2004, when the Hunter built a new wing, the artist reworked the sculpture to fit its current home. Now you can enjoy the work from different angles—from beneath as you enter the new lobby, and at eye level from the West Wing’s second floor. Come take a closer look!
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Richard Hunt (1935-2023), Spatial Interactions: Aerographic Forms and Cantilevered Confluence, 1990-91, welded bronze. Museum purchase, supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency, 1991.27
