Harry Bertoia

HARRY BERTOIA (Italy, 1915 - USA, 1978)
Bird" armchair, design 1952.
Chromed frame.
Red fabric upholstery.
Measurements: 97 x 40 x 98 cm.

Early example of Harry Bertoia's 1952 design. The openwork structure of the "Bird" chair gives it a light and airy aesthetic. The two slightly elevated wing-like sides and the tail-like backrest evoke a bird with essentialist lines. The slender metal legs contribute to the minimalist look.

Painter, graphic artist, sculptor, university professor and furniture designer, Harry Bertoia emigrated to the United States at the age of fifteen, and it was there that he developed his training and career. He studied at the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts and later at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield, Michigan, where he later became a teacher and created the department of metalwork. During these years he began to experiment with the forms of jewelry, and to explore ideas that would later emerge in his sculpture and designs. In 1943 he began his collaboration with designer Charles Eames, with whom he worked until 1946. After a period working for Point Loma Navel Electronics as a creator of equipment manuals, in 1949 he joined Hans Knoll at Knoll Associates. His first sculpture exhibition took place at the Knoll Showroom in New York in 1951, and the following year Knoll would patent his most famous furniture design, the welded rod "Diamond" chair. Bertoia's designs are now in the collections of major design and contemporary art museums, including MoMA in New York and many others.