With the Diamond Chairs, the Italian designer, sculptor and sound artist Harry Bertoia has written design history. The wire mesh chairs, made of wire rod, come in two sizes (421 and 422) and were designed as part of a five-part series of seating furniture at the invitation of Florence and Hans Knoll. Together with the high-back 'Bird Chair 423' and the 'Asymmetric Chaise 424', the series became financially successful that Bertoia was able to devote himself intensively to sculpture from then on. Another classic is the 'Bench 400 R' (1951), which he also made for Knoll International. In addition to furniture, the company also presented Bertoia's sculptures in showrooms and interior design projects. Knoll historian Brian Lutz put it as follows: "Bertoia's paintings were better than his sculptures. And his sculptures were better than his furniture. And his furniture was absolutely brilliant".
Harry Bertoia's career began just a few years after his move from a small Italian town to the USA, when he was awarded a scholarship to the Detroit School of Arts and Crafts in 1936, followed by a scholarship to the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills - at that time a "melting pot" of creatives: Walter Gropius, Maija Grotell and the Saarinens were also among the teachers and students. From 1939 to 1943, Harry Bertoia was to revive the metal workshop. He produced organic abstract jewellery, along with a series of wonderful monotypes. In 1943 he married Brigitta Valentiner, whose father Wilhelm Valentiner, director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, introduced him to Paul Klee, Kandinsky and Joan Miró. In the same year, Bertoia left Cranbrook and began his collaboration with Ray and Charles Eames to experiment with curved veneer woods. A deep professional and personal bond developed, but it came to an end when Bertoia sought co-design rights to the moulded veneer wood chairs. When the court ruled in Eames' favour, he returned to the East Coast at Knoll's invitation. To avoid further legal confrontations with Eames and Herman Miller, Bertoia also changed the design of his chair series and worked with single metal wire instead of double.
Between 1953 and 1978, a large number of star architects such as Eero Saarinen or Henry Dreyfuss commissioned him with sculptures, in 1956 he was awarded the Craftmanship Medal of the American Institute of Architects and in 1958 he was allowed to represent the USA at the World's Fair in Brussels together with Alexander Calder. From 1960, Bertoia created his famous sound sculptures made of metal rods, which he called 'Sonambient'. Numerous honorary memberships and international awards followed. Harry Bertoia died at the age of only 63, but he left behind a legacy that makes him an icon of Mid-Century Design.
