Italian artist and furniture designer, Harry Bertoia`s career began in the 1930s as a student at the Cranbrook Academy of Art where he re-established the metal-working studio and, taught as head of the department, from 1939 until 1943 until it was closed due to wartime restrictions on materials. During the war, Bertoia worked with Charles and Ray Eames at the Evans Products Company in California, developing new techniques for molding plywood. Bertoia designed the patented Diamond chair for Knoll in 1952. As a furniture designer, Bertoia is best known for the Diamond chair and the Bird chair, a high-backed model developed from the Diamond chair that looks like a bird with spread wings. Its organic, human-friendly form helped to create a new look for modernism. All of his work bears the hallmarks of a highly skilled and imaginative sculptor, as well as an inventive designer, deeply engaged with the relationship between form and space. Harry Bertoia received awards from the American Institute of Architects in 1973 and the American Academy of Letters in 1975.
(1) White Knoll Bertoia Mesh Chair
The Bertoia Side Chair is composed of delicate steel rods that have been precisely interwoven and welded to create airy, sculptural seats. Despite their delicate filigreed appearance, the chairs are supremely strong. The graceful sleigh base is perfectly stable, never wobbly, and has four plastic glides to protect floors. The powder-coated chairs can be used outdoors with proper care and limited exposure to the elements.
