The Knoll International historian Brian Lutz once stated that Harry Bertoia's paintings were better than his sculptures. And his sculptures better than his furniture. And his furniture is absolutely brilliant. Born in Italy in 1915 furniture designer and artist Harry Bertoia studied jewellery making at the Detroit Technical High School, moving onto the Detroit School of Arts and Crafts before in 1938 he received a scholarship to the Cranbrook Academy of Art where he opened his own workshop and taught metalwork and jewellery design. In 1946 Bertoia moved to California to help fellow Cranbrook graduate Charles Eames develop his plywood bending techniques; Bertoia's support was therefore crucial for the legendary Eames Chairs. Through his contact with Florence Knoll, also a Cranbrook graduate, Harry Bertoia began to work for Hans Knoll and in 1952 developed his legendary collection of steel wire furniture including the Diamond Chair and the Bertoia chair - one of the biggest innovations in 20th century furniture design. Following the success of this collection Betroia focused mainly on his sculpture work, including his sound sculptures, with whihc he produced several LPs.
Cranbrook An Alma Mater; An Academy of Art; A colony of experimentation Cranbrook Academy of Art arose on the Cranbrook Estate, a private fiefdom nestling quietly in a forest glade to the north of the contemporary Detroit ruled by the Booth dynasty; and a...
...Harry Bertoia Although known as a furniture and product designer, and less well known as a co-collaborator on the plywood chair designs of Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia always understood himself as a sculptor, and from the 1960s onwards turned his attention ever more to musical sculptures, or as previously noted, "sculpture as a musical instrument which everyone could “play” regardless of talent or training... And which following Harry Bertoia's death in 1978 became a largely overlooked aspect of his oeuvre...
...The Jewelry of Harry Bertoia" and "Atmosphere for Enjoyment... Harry Bertoia's Environment for Sound" at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York City, New York, USA Although arguably best known for his furniture design work Harry Bertoia wasn't a furniture designer: he was an artist and metalsmith for whom furniture design was but one expression of his creativity...
...Did however mean we managed to pen a little more than in previous Marches, including a birthday tribute to Harry Bertoia and interviews with Izabela Boloz and Marcel Kabisch from Erzgebirge producer Feinserie...
..." So described a 21 year old, and apparently extremely self-confident, Harry Bertoia himself on his application for Cranbrook Academy of Art... That the boast was anything other than hollow is something Harry Bertoia was to go on to prove...
