Val Bertoia Furniture
Val Bertoia was born in Santa Monica, California, in 1949. In the 1950s, his family moved from California to Pennsylvania, where he has lived and worked ever since.
In the 1960s, Bertoia studied mechanical engineering at Indiana Institute of Technology in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. In 1969, he was awarded “Speaker of the Year” at Indiana Tech. In 1971, he was released from Ft. Dix, New Jersey, from the US Army to return back to Pennsylvania.
Bertoia started working at a farm near his home, and soon afterward, his father, Harry Bertoia, asked him to work at Bertoia Studio with him. He worked with his father from 1972–78. The “sound sculpture” environment, which Harry continued to focus on for 10 years beginning in 1968, is trademarked “Sonambient.” Harry and Val installed large-scale commissioned metal sculptures, and Harry was amazed with his son’s level of precision and engineering abilities and often asked his advice.
In the late 1970s, Harry and Val made Bertoia sound sculptures for distribution worldwide. During those six years, Val worked on his own projects, which included wind-electric systems as derivatives of kinetic sculpture models. Harry was an intuitive engineer, and Val's wind systems, the heights of which reached over 90 feet, were refined by Harry and became well-balanced with a U.S. patent.
In 1978, continuing where Harry left off — and with the encouragement of his mother, Brigitta Bertoia — Val proceeded with the sculpture business of his father's legacy. Val Bertoia sculptures made after November 1978, when Harry died, are numbered, starting with “B-01.”
Find authentic Val Bertoia sculptures and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
Mid-20th Century American Modern Val Bertoia Furniture
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Val Bertoia Furniture
Metal, Brass
1970s American Vintage Val Bertoia Furniture
Brass, Copper
20th Century Mexican Folk Art Val Bertoia Furniture
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Val Bertoia Furniture
Bronze, Copper
20th Century Indian Val Bertoia Furniture
Brass, Copper
2010s Modern Val Bertoia Furniture
Brass, Copper
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Val Bertoia Furniture
Copper, Brass
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Val Bertoia Furniture
Bronze
1970s American Brutalist Vintage Val Bertoia Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Val Bertoia Furniture
Brass, Copper
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Val Bertoia Furniture
Granite, Brass, Bronze
2010s North American Mid-Century Modern Val Bertoia Furniture
Brass, Copper
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Val Bertoia Furniture
Bronze
