Olivet acquires bronze sculptures by renowned sculptor Richard Hunt

Two sculptures by the esteemed American sculptor Richard Hunt of Chicago will soon be installed near the Betty and Kenneth Hawkins Centennial Chapel on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University. The installation ceremony will take place on Friday, May 3, 2013, at 11 a.m. with Mr. Hunt participating.

One of the most prolific public sculptors in the United States, Mr. Hunt created these bronze sculptures in 1983 for Temple B’nai Israel in Kankakee, Ill.

• “Eternal Life” was commissioned by former Illinois Governor Samuel Shapiro. This sculpture was a gift to the Temple to honor the memory of the Governor’s late wife.
• “The Bush Was Not Consumed” was commissioned by the family of David Blatt, who was a business owner and developer in the Kankakee area.

Following a recent decision to close the Temple, a donor purchased these outstanding works of art for installation at Olivet.  

“Often the closing of an institution in a community means that works of art and other reminders of the legacy of that institution are lost,” Mr. Hunt said. “I am delighted that, in this instance, my sculptures have found a new home in the community and will be there for all to see for years to come. And I am pleased and honored that Olivet Nazarene University has invited me to participate in the installation ceremony of my two sculptures on its campus.”

Mr. Hunt’s commissioned works are displayed by schools, businesses, medical centers, libraries and other locations in Illinois, Texas, Michigan, California and Washington, D.C., among other places. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as awards from The Art Institute of Chicago and the National Academy of Design. In 2009, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center. In 2010, he received the Legacy Award from the United Negro College Fund. A native of Chicago, he continues to work in his studio on West Lill Avenue in Chicago.

Olivet Nazarene University is an accredited Christian, liberal arts university offering more than 100 areas of undergraduate and graduate study, including the Doctor of Education in ethical leadership. Olivet has one main campus in Bourbonnais, Ill. — just 50 miles south of Chicago; three additional sites: Rolling Meadows and Oak Brook, Ill., and Hong Kong; and more than 100 School of Graduate and Continuing Studies learning locations throughout Chicagoland and the Midwest. From Oxford to Tokyo, hundreds of Olivet students also experience the global classroom each year, whether through study abroad opportunities or worldwide mission trips.