Richard Hunt, an internationally prominent sculptor, will display his African art collection at the NIU Art Gallery in Chicago.

“Life in the Form,” Hunt’s African art collection, will be on display from May 1-30. The public is invited to attend the opening reception on Friday May 1 from 5 to 7 p.m. Hunt will attend the opening.

unt said he has been working on the collection for 15 years. He said portions of it have been displayed at Miami University in Ohio, Springfield-Missouri Art Museum, the Art Institute in Chicago and Columbia College in Chicago.

e said he enjoys sculpting with bronze, stainless steel, iron and other metals. “I love sculpting and collecting the work which can be exhibited,” Hunt said. “It has been a very absorbing and interesting activity. As an artist, this collection of African art has been both an influence and an inspiration,” he said.

Vesta Daniel, NIU associate art professor, said Hunt has been a visiting artist at NIU in the past. She said he has shown over 500 pieces of African art in the Illinois area.

Daniel said she hopes the exhibit will familiarize Chicagoans with NIU and its activities since the exhibit is in the NIU Art Gallery, 212 W. Superior Street. Few people in Chicago have seen the NIU campus, she said.

Daniel said NIU has not taught a class in African Art for over 12 years. “This African art collection signals the reactivation of African art at NIU,” she said. A course in African art will be offered in the spring of 1988 signaling the redevelopment of African art, Daniel said.