Big Twist, 1978. Bronze, 137.5 x 24 x 24 in.

Defining Nature by Defying Materials: A Conversation with Bryan Hunt

Bryan Hunt is in the catbird seat. He has surveyed four decades of contemporary art, including Minimalism, Process Art, Earthwork, conceptualism, performance, installation, political art, and realism, but rarely has he incorporated these styles into his sculpture, which has embraced materiality, abstraction, and nature. Rather than mining the work of his peers, Hunt has studied the modern masters—Brancusi, Giacometti, and Rodin—even when their work was not in vogue. Using them as guides, Hunt has asked fundamental questions about sculptural practice, assessing the character of surface, the role of materials, viewer interaction, and the placement of an object in space. His work is quietly independent and driven by nature, the longstanding metaphorical force behind his sculpture.