Harry Bertoia born March 10, 1915 in San Lorenzo, Pordenone, Italy was an Italian-born artist and modern furniture designer. At the age of 15 Bertoia traveled from Italy to Detroit to visit his older brother, however he chose to stay and enrolled in Cass Technical High School, where he studied art and design and learned the art of handmade jewelry making. In 1938 he attended the Art School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, now known as the College for Creative Studies. The following year in 1937, he received a scholarship to study at the Cranbrook Academy of Art where he encountered Walter Gropius, Edmund N. Bacon and Ray and Charles Eames for the first time.
In 1950, he moved to Pennsylvania, to establish a studio, and to work with Hans and Florence Knoll. (Florence was also a Cranbrook Graduate). During this period he designed five wire pieces that became known as the Bertoia Collection. Among them the famous 'Diamond chair' a fluid, sculptural form made from a molded lattice work of welded steel. In Bertoia's own words, "If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them." Our modern reproductions of Harry Bertoia's furniture are a tribute to Harry Bertoia's beautiful and timeless designs.
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