“Wind & Water” opening celebration at NB Free Public Library
Wind and Water: Life Above and Below is a new sculptural mobile created by New Bedford sculptor, Chuck Hauck. We invite the public to join us on June 17th to welcome this new work to the second floor of the library for its two-year exhibition term.
Details:
Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Time: 5:00 – 7:00pm
Location: Floor 2 & 3 of the Free Public Library, 613 Pleasant St, New Bedford, MA 02740
Meet the Artist and Library Curator and help us welcome this new artwork to the city.
About the artwork:
Wind and Water: Life Above and Below simulates an ocean-side scene from over a million years ago, consisting of now-extinct dragonflies, mantises, grasshoppers, and other creatures, with now-extinct sea predators circling below. Through this mobile installation, the artist wishes to draw attention to earlier life on earth that now ceases to exist. The mobile will hang in the Library’s Rotunda.
About the artist:
Charles “Chuck” A. Hauck was born in Toledo, Ohio in December 1958. He graduated from the former Swain School of Design of New Bedford in 1981, majoring in sculpture, which continues to guide his lifelong practice.
After college, Hauck became involved in the Second Street Art Exchange, a cohort of galleries primarily operated by Swain alumni out of a brick building by Custom House Square throughout the 1980s. Since then, Hauck has led and supported several of New Bedford’s cultural planning efforts, including the 1990 Heritage Street Festival and Schooner Race, and other local initiatives. This particular partnership with the city and the American Schooner Society led to the establishment of Gallery X (currently located in the former First Universalist Church on William Street), a venerable and pioneering cultural space in New Bedford’s downtown art scene. Hauck also served as a founding member and the first President of Orpheum Rising Project Helpers, Incorporated, a non-profit committed to the preservation and restoration of the historic New Bedford Orpheum Theater.
In addition to his support for hundreds of New Bedford-area exhibitions and public programs over the years, Hauck has been consistently recognized by the Waterfront Historic Area League (WHALE) for his professional restoration of the city’s many historical churches and mansions. His sculptures and prints are part of a number of public and private collections, including the New Bedford Free Public Library and New Bedford Economic Development Council.