Spiral Odyssey

A polished steel spiral rises from Charlotte's park for its most celebrated artist, made by a friend who shared his place in art history. Spiral Odyssey, by Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt, was installed in Romare Bearden Park in Uptown in May 2017, according to QCity Metro. The Bearden Foundation, which marked an unveiling ceremony on 23 September 2017, describes it as welded stainless steel, nearly 30 feet tall and about 8,000 pounds. The Bearden Foundation says Hunt and Bearden were the first African-American artists to have solo shows at New York's Museum of Modern Art, both in 1971. In a statement, Hunt said the "Odyssey" in the title refers to Bearden's series of works that took Homer's epic poem as a point of inspiration and departure. He said "Spiral" has multiple associations, one being Bearden's role in bringing African American artists together in New York in 1963. The historical marker in the park, erected in 2017 by Mecklenburg County, the Duke Energy Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Arts & Science Council, says a form resembling a ship's bow serves as the base, alluding to forward momentum as well as the suffering of enslaved Africans during the Middle Passage. It adds that whimsical vignettes of fish surfing in the ship's wake and plant forms inspired by the surrounding garden signify resiliency and regeneration. The park opened in 2013 on 5.4 acres; the Bearden Foundation notes it lies just blocks from the Mint Museum, home to the largest collection of Bearden's artwork on public display. Our State, in an article last updated in 2023, called the sculpture gleaming and highly polished. A visit pairs naturally with the museum, and the marker is worth reading beside the sculpture.