Missing the point: 10-foot-long red thumbtack sculpture stolen from NC gallery

Joe Marusak
·2 min read
2

A giant sculpture of a red thumbtack was stolen this week from the North Carolina gallery of its artist, police said.

The 10-foot-long sculpture has an appraised market value of $50,000 but is not for sale, its creator, Paul Hunter Speagle, told The Charlotte Observer on Thursday. “It is priceless to us,” the 41-year-old artist said.

Sculpture displayed outside gallery

Speagle said he only recently displayed the three-piece sculpture outdoors, at the front entrance of his ATAC Art Gallery in his hometown of Hickory. The name stands for Artists Taking a Chance, he said.

Someone stole the sculpture between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to a police incident report obtained by The Charlotte Observer. The Hickory Daily Record first reported about the theft.

Speagle said he found the base of the tack outside a nearby business, but the top of the sculpture and its needle remain missing. Hickory is about an hour north of Charlotte.

This 10-foot-long sculpture of a giant red thumbtack was stolen from outside the front entrance of its artist’s Hickory gallery late Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, or early Wednesday, Feb. 28.
This 10-foot-long sculpture of a giant red thumbtack was stolen from outside the front entrance of its artist’s Hickory gallery late Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, or early Wednesday, Feb. 28.

Made in Savannah

Speagle said he created the sculpture in 2002 as a “performance piece” while attending Savannah College of Art and Design.

He said he fashioned large thumbtack pieces to hold up his large sheets of crayon drawings at the time. He’s always been a painter and began sculpting in college. “The art world is a giant bulletin board, and I’m a tack,” Speagle said of the idea behind the sculpture.

The stolen 40-pound sculpture consists of cardboard and sheets of foam and acrylic, he said. The sculpture has been displayed over the years in galleries in Atlanta, Brooklyn, New York, and elsewhere.

Galleries overseas sell his works. That enabled him financially to return and settle in his hometown, where artist revenues are far less, Speagle said.

‘Deeply saddened’ by theft

The sculpture “is an iconic symbol of the gallery,” Speagle said. He described it as a “standout piece symbolizing the gallery’s commitment to exhibiting innovative art.

“The theft has deeply saddened us,” Speagle added. “We’re just hoping for its safe return.”

Hickory Police are investigating the theft and urge anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing pieces to call the department at 828-328-5551.

The department had no update on Friday regarding the investigation, police spokeswoman Kristen Hart said.

Giving back to the community

Speagle had “pop up” locations of his gallery in Hickory before opening his permanent location in May at 1020 3rd Ave. Dr. NW.

He supports local artists through his gallery, including a monthly artists’ flea market. The gallery also hosts an arts camp for kids.

Speagle also designed the city’s Miracle of Hickory mural which marked the 75th anniversary of the community’s construction of an emergency polio hospital in 54 hours in 1944.

He said he hopes the missing pieces turn up before his solo show in Hong Kong in early April, although his expectations are “low.”