Study for Richmond Cycle

Richard Hunt, Study for Richmond Cycle, 1977, soldered, bolted, and burnished copper with wood edging, 19 x 60 ³⁄₄ x 24 ³⁄₄ in. (48.3 x 154.3 x 62.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1977.47.14, © 1977, Richard Hunt

Artwork Details

Title: Study for Richmond Cycle
Artist: Richard Hunt
Date: 1977
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 19 x 60 ³⁄₄ x 24 ³⁄₄ in. (48.3 x 154.3 x 62.9 cm.)
Copyright: © 1977, Richard Hunt
Credit Line: Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program
Mediums: copper
wood
Mediums Description: soldered, bolted, and burnished copper with wood edging
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Abstract
Study — sculpture model
General Services Administration — Art-in-Architecture Program
Object Number: 1977.47.14
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1977.47.14

Artwork Description

Study for Richmond Cycle began life as a model for a huge plaza sculpture outside the Social Security Administration building in Richmond, California. Richmond Cycle is composed of two distinct parts that are separated spatially but united visually by virtue of shared materials and surface finish. The large biomorphic mass that seems to emerge from the ground and then arc back calls to mind a living form, an enormous tree that has fallen to the earth or a primordial animal taking its last breath. Together the elements evoke the cycle of life in which age and the weight of experience are paired with the lightness and promise of youth.

African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012