Bertoia Studio Sonambient Sculpture Featuring 176 Harry Bertoia Rods
View Similar Items
Bertoia Studio Sonambient Sculpture Featuring 176 Harry Bertoia Rods
About the Item
- Creator:Val Bertoia (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30.5 in (77.47 cm)Width: 6 in (15.24 cm)Depth: 4.5 in (11.43 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1990-1999
- Date of Manufacture:1999
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Pittsburgh, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU166426355593
Val Bertoia
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.
You May Also Like
2010s North American Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass, Copper
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass, Copper
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Silver, Brass, Copper
