Harry Bertoia biography and Furniture Designs

Star Design UK is a dynamic modern company specialised in the best of modern classic furniture designs.Today we would like to share our passion with one of the most iconic designers of modern classics and display some of his timeless furniture pieces,but first we like to shade some light about the life of Harry Bertoia and his struggle and determination to succeed and challenge all odds to become a household Name and well known sculptor and designer around the globe..

Harry Bertoia Story :

Harry Bertoia was an Italian born artist,sculptor and modern classic furniture designer..Born in Italy on the 10th of march 1915 in small village of san lorenzo.His real name was Arieto Bertoia,upon immigrating to Michigan in America in 1930,he altered his name to Harry Bertoia.He joined the art school of the district society where he trained on scholarship for painting and drawing.1937 he joined cranbrook Academy of Art and Designs in Mitchigan where he meet some of the most famous artists and designers of his time such as Charles& Ray Eames,Eero Saarinen and Florence Knoll.He enjoyed a very close relationship with the Eames and designed their wedding rings as a gift Unfortunately their friendship took a down turn in later life because of invention copyright claims and court disputes .In 1940 Bertoia meet Brigitta Valentiner the daughter of the director of the detroit institute of Arts and they tied the knot in 1943.From his early years Harry Bertoia had a very unique talent not only in modern classic furniture designs but also  in jewellery and wedding dresses designs .His passion for jewellery designs inspired him to create the diamond chair .He was a unique artist with extraordinary inspirations .Harry Bertoia thought of a chair as a diamond,so he designed it in a shape of a diamond , and to add the clarity and transparency of a diamond on his chair design ,he made it from metal rods as he liked the idea of the air running through it.

                                                                  Cranbrook Art Museum

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Between 1943/1950 Bertoia decided to leave Cranbrook Mitchigan and join forces with one of the most powerful designer of his time Charles Eames in Los Angles.Bertoia was very excited by the prospect of experimenting new techniques with Charles Eames on plywood and fibreglass products .One of these basic techniques was the design and creation of a single piece of furniture in one single piece from reinforced plastic.The other technique is to move from the old traditional heavy and dark furniture to a more geometrical artistic forms and visually lighter furniture..Bertoia and Charles Eames decided their first project would be to continue the experiment of the Eames/Saarinen Cranbrook chair which won the museum of art furniture competition in new York 1940.The award winning chair did not make a huge commercial success so they decided to experiment this new techniques.Unfortunately the story did not have a very happy ending between the two iconic designers .Charles Eames was a director of research and development at evans products Co while Harry Bertoia was more involved in the actual workshop designs .apparently,according to some historian Eames was adopting bertoia,s ideas and depriving him from any credit or recognition.It is not really easy to support or deny any of these claims made by different opinion makers.simply because there is no clear evidence available to us to judge upon it.But surly Bertoia was not happy working with Eames and decided to move on to San Diego where he spend two years working on project involving human engineering which known today ergonomics.this science is totally new in modern age and the word was invented at Harry Bertoia time and yet he was already so advanced in it.This is the real beginning of the genius Harry Bertoia where ha started experimenting on industrial rods and wire mesh to create artistic forms shapes and sounds.all of his artistic work was manifested in his diamond chairs series and Sonambient sculptors..

                                                         The Cranbrook School Quadrangle

The 1950s were the best years in Bertoia,s professional and artistic career .He finally reach the top of the world and established himself as an iconic household name in the modern furniture history.Harry Bertoia was invited by the Florence Knoll the manufacturer furniture company which was following his cranbrook career and offered him a full support and total freedom to use their equipment for any furniture design project he choose.That soon led Bertoia to the creation of his famous Diamond Chair and the follow up series in 1952 which introduced by the manufacturer Florence Knoll and became a symbol of the modern furniture of our age.At this stage another conflict started by Charles Eames about the diamond chair design and harry bertoia find himself facing court and forced to by court order to change his design which he did and it was a huge success artistically and commercially.the invention the diamond chair allowed harry bertoia to receive royalties for the rest of his life and secured his financial situation which allowed him to devote himself exclusively to his sculpting career.

Harry Bertoie,s love of nature and art is present in most of his furniture work and sculpture designs.He interpreted nature forms,motions and sound in his work .His experiments with metal rod in his furniture and sculpture designs led him to understand the nature and the complexity of sounds .He eventually created the ultimate sound collection in a form of Kinetic sound sculpture and he called it the Sonambient....

                  **Harry Bertoia Sound Albums**

****Watch the video and listen to one of the greatest tonal art ever created.Bertioa produced several sound albums and he organised small concerts for friends and special guests to listen and enjoy this amazing tonal sculptures***

  
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                    **Harry Bertoia Furniture** At Star Design UK

We offer a stunning modern reproductions of Harry Bertoia Designs reproduced to the original style.View our selection of Bertoia designer classic pieces with high quality material and affordable prices..

**Bertoia Upholstered Large Diamond Chair**

Harry Bertoia collection was a series of enigmatic iconic designs in modern classics designed exclusively for florence knoll in 1952..sculptor Harry Bertoia's Diamond Lounge chair remains a fascinating study in bent metal rods techniques and a fixture of mid-century design.Star Design UK offer a stunning modern reproduction to the original style,Upholstered with a high Quality Soft-Touch Danish Wool and mounted om a mirror shine stainless solid steel frame..

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   ***Bertoia Diamond Chair***

Harry Bertoia was obsessed with the idea of light travelling through space,that,s why he designed the  Diamond Chair almost transparent in a shape of a diamond ring.The chair is completely welded and hand laboured.With its wide unique contoured arms,bent and and welded steel construction ,the sculptural diamond chair is exceptionally strong and surprisingly comfortable.Usually the diamond chair come with a leather seat cushion which is padded with a foam insert for extra softness.The brightly chromed steel frame is a shine mirror which pairs nicely with any modern interior design.

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Wire Side Chair another iconic classic design by Harry Bertoia

The wire chair is made entirely from strong steel welded rods,the structure  of the  frame is beautifully designed and the mirror shine chromed metal make this chair a truly an elegant piece of classics which complement any modern living space.The wire chair usually come with a leather seat cushion which is padded with a foam insert for extra softness.At Star Design UK we provide a high quality reproduction of bertoia collection taking care of all the details which made these designs a timeless classics.

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Harry Bertoia Wire Stool

Harry Bertoia wire  stool is a classic design,yet still regarded very modern and undeniably elegant.The whole chair made of a single welded shell from stainless steel wire mesh..

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