Untitled (Sonambient), circa 1970

Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) was an Italian born artist who emigrated to the United States of America at the age of 15. In 1937, Bertoia was awarded a scholarship to attend the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and in 1939 Bertoia was asked by Eliel Saarinen to direct the Metals workshop at the school. In this highly innovative and creative environment, Bertoia found himself amongst likeminded visionaries of American mid-century modernism such as Florence Knoll, Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen.

A multi-talented artist widely known for his famed Diamond chair designed for Knoll in 1952, Bertoia’s diverse career as a sculptor continues to be pursued by collectors around the world. Bertoia’s Sonambient, or Tonal sculptures express a great fascination he had with the physical characteristics of metal, from their inherent aesthetics to their properties of sound and kinetic energy. Produced in a range of compositional density and height, the sculptures appear stoic and stationary yet reverberate movement through interaction either via observer or natural atmosphere. The release of sound emanates from the metal structure and reverberates into its surroundings. In addition to his linear Tonals, Bertoia also expressed the organic potential of metal with his Bush series. These undulating bronzes defy the limits of metal sculpture to become fluid expressions of form. Their free-form appearance begins with a thoughtful and mathematical branching of stems from a central core, expanding outward until they terminate in an undulating field of metal globules. Here, Bertoia explored organic, terrestrial forms as a metaphor for the infinite and interconnected universe, illustrating the depth of his conceptual practice alongside the raw aesthetic power of his artistic output in metal.