By Sandstein (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
Harry Bertoia- celebrated industrial designer, inspired sculptor, and all around icon of modern design- would have turned 102 years old last Friday. The Italian-born polymath, most known for his wire Diamond Chair, defined an era of American design by creating work free from the formal constraints of European Modernism. He remains renowned not only for his creative genius but for his humility (he rarely signed his work) and experimental engagement with materials, form, and space.
A couple of years ago, Knoll, the producer of Bertoia’s most famous pieces, put together a number of exhibitions and lectures on the designer’s life for what would have been his 100th birthday. You can read more about Bertoia’s life and career here.
Now, for all of you design junkies (or aspiring ones), here are five Bertoia pieces you should know. Diamond Chair (1952 for Knoll) 
Side Chair (1952 for Knoll) 
Knoll.com
Bird Chair (1952 for Knoll) 
Knoll.com
Bench (1952 for Knoll) 
Knoll.com
Knoll.com
More? Check out Bertoia’s sculpture portfolio here. Happy Monday. And Happy Birthday, Mr. Bertoia. 
Carol M. Highsmith, Memorial Fountain (Harry Bertoia) on the campus of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Huntington United States West Virginia, courtesy of the Library of Congress, 2015631805.
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AuthorThis architectural historian cannot stop thinking about buildings, food, and that vintage rug she found online. 
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