Harry Bertoia Furnitures

Harry Bertoia

Born in San Lorenzo, Italy, Harry Bertoia moved to the United States with his father when he was fifteen.
He studied painting and sculpture at the Detroit Institute of Technology.
By 1937 he was teaching at the Detroit School of Art and Crafts and at the Cranbrook Academy of Art.
He did a little of everything, working for the most diverse types of firms and even designed jewelry.
In 1940 he began designing furniture such as the chairs he defined as “air sculptures” because the basic elements were space, color and metal and he also focused on solutions to functional problems.
During that period he was hired by Knoll International that gave him carte blanche to do whatever he liked best.