SAF Lecture: Harry Bertoia, Midcentury Designer

  • Thursday, January 22, 2015
  • 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Herald-Tribune, 1741 Main Street, Sarasota, FL 34236

Registration

  • Full-time student with ID

Harry Bertoia (1915-1978), the brilliant midcentury modern designer, left an enormous legacy of sculptures, furniture, drawings and jewelry. He designed chairs for Knoll, crafted over 50 public sculptures, etched hundreds of monotypes, and welded thousands of art pieces. Bertoia pushed the wave of modern art into an expansive period of exploration of not only visual, but practical and auditory and tactile art. From delicate jewelry to massive fountains, from an asymmetrical chaise lounge to petite children’s chairs, from detailed graphics to thunderous gongs; this artist took what he infused from Nature’s beauty and transformed it into uplifting experiential pieces.

Hear his youngest daughter, Celia Bertoia, describe Bertoia’s work and life, focusing on the history of his chairs, which were designed in the 1950's and are still being produced today. She'll share anecdotes about her father's life, early history of Knoll, and pose the question of relevancy of midcentury modern design in today’s world.

Celia Bertoia’s biography of Harry Bertoia, "The Life and Work of Harry Bertoia", will be released in March 2015. Celia and her husband live in Montana for most of the year and Tucson for part of the winter. As director of the Harry Bertoia Foundation, her mission is to further the legacy of her father.

Thank you to our sponsors, Home Resource and Knoll, for tonight's display of Bertoia chairs.

Links of Interest
https://harrybertoia.org/
https://www.arietobertoia.org/
https://www.knoll.com/designer/Harry-Bertoia

5:00 to 5:30 pm Check-in
5:30 to 6:30 pm Lecture
6:30 to 7:00 pm Q + A
7:00 to 8:00 pm Meet-and-Greet Reception


Photo shown above courtesy of Knoll. The Bertoia Diamond chair has been in continuous production since 1952 by Knoll.

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