Harry Bertoia: Sculpture for Living
October 14, 2023–April 7, 2024, Sculpture Gallery
While the artist and designer Harry Bertoia (American, b. Italy, 1915–1978) is perhaps best known for his commissioned sculptures and pioneering use of sound as sculptural material, most of his creative output was made for domestic spaces, to be actively lived with not passively observed in the often-sterile environments of galleries or museums. From the beginning of his career, he frequently made works for friends and family, and his now-iconic collection of seating for Knoll helped define midcentury modern interiors and outdoor living spaces. Knoll also sold many of Bertoia’s sculptures in their showrooms and featured his work in their interior design projects throughout the postwar period. While collaborating with many leading modernist architects and designers on large-scale architectural projects, many of these practitioners—including Gordon Bunshaft, Florence Knoll, Eero Saarinen, and Minoru Yamasaki—also became enthusiastic collectors of his smaller-scaled works. Bertoia often worked directly with potential private collectors and clients, creating or modifying sculptures to fit the specificities of their homes and offices. Bertoia was happy to have his work integrated and treasured within these personal places. Children clamored on tonal sculptures in hallways and so-called straw constructions gracefully hung from ceilings. Welded bush-like sculptures rested on coffee tables and multiplane screens divided rooms. Though such functional applications have often been maligned with the history of modern art, Bertoia’s innovative, multifaceted sculptural practice demonstrates the power of art in everyday life.
Guest curated by Dr. Marin R. Sullivan, Director of the Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné, Harry Bertoia: Sculpture for Living will feature fifteen exemplary sculptures and furniture designs created by Bertoia, some never-before publicly exhibited. Drawn from the collection of the Harry Bertoia Foundation, including a selection of tonal sculptures from the so-called Sonambient Barn on the artist’s property in Pennsylvania, as well as from select private and public collections in Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut, these objects share rich, intimate histories of creation, use, and appreciation in artist’s and their subsequent owner’s lives.
Harry Bertoia (American, b. Italy, 1915–1978)
Untitled, 1953
Steel and brass, 17 ¾ x 29 ½ x 4 in.
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York
© 2023 Estate of Harry Bertoia / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Harry Bertoia (American, b. Italy, 1915–1978)
Untitled, 1960s
Spill-cast bronze, 15 x 55 in.
Harry Bertoia Foundation
© 2023 Estate of Harry Bertoia / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Harry Bertoia (American, b. Italy, 1915–1978)
Untitled, c. 1963
Bronze welded wire with patina, 14 x 14 x 14 in.
Harry Bertoia Foundation
© 2023 Estate of Harry Bertoia / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Harry Bertoia in his Bally, Pennsylvania studio; image courtesy of Harry Bertoia Foundation.
© 2023 Estate of Harry Bertoia / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Programs:
Art Adventures: Everyday Sculptures
Dates: December 9 and December 10, 2023
Time: 1:00–3:00pm
Audience: Families/Intergenerational (5 and up)
Cost: Free with admission
Listen to Harry Bertoia Sonambient Recordings
