Diamond Armchair by Harry Bertoia for Knoll Inc. / Knoll International, 1960s

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Harry Bertoia was an Italian-American sculptor, furniture designer, and experimental musician. Born (Arri Bertoia) in 1915 (San Lorenzo) and deceased … Read more Harry Bertoia was an Italian-American sculptor, furniture designer, and experimental musician. Born (Arri Bertoia) in 1915 (San Lorenzo) and deceased in 1978, he was part of the Knoll design group.

Before Knoll, Harry Bertoia studied at the Cranbrook Academic of Art. There, he met the Eameses and collaborated with the couple in the 1940s, notably on molded plywood.
At the same time, the artist participated in the war effort, working in aeronautics. The Eameses sent him to Santa Monica to take welding classes, a skill that would serve him throughout his life.
Bertoia is said to have designed Raye Eames's ring.
In 1946, Bertoia left the Californian adventure.

Bertoia worked with Knoll in 1950, designing the "Diamond Chair" two years later (in 1952).
Bertoia distinguished himself with his unique use of metal: he used braided steel wire.
Thanks to this braided technique, with its fine details, he reclaimed space, geometry, and organic forms, and touched on both sculpture and furniture.
Metal brought visual lightness to his pieces while also providing comfort.

When presenting a series of wire mesh prototypes to Florence and Hans Knoll in Pennsylvania, Bertoia demonstrated their robustness and comfort by sitting on them himself. Florence Knoll, impressed by his boldness and originality, immediately agreed to produce them and encouraged Bertoia to continue his artistic explorations.
The "DIAMOND" chair is one of the symbols of 20th-century design!

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Harry Bertoia was an Italian-American sculptor, furniture designer and experimental musician, born (Arri Bertoia) in 1915 (San Lorenzo) and died in 1978. He was part of the Knoll group of designers.

Before Knoll, Harry Bertoia studied at the Cranbrook Academic of Art, where he met the Eames and collaborated with them in the '40s, especially on molded plywood.
At the same time, the artist took part in the war effort, working in the aeronautical industry. The Eames sent him to Santa Monica to take a welding course, a skill that would serve him well for the rest of his life.
We say that Bertoia would have designed Raye Eames' ring.
In 1946, Bertoia left the Californian adventure.

In 1950, Bertoia worked with Knoll and designed the "Diamond Chair" 2 years later (in 1952).
Bertoia then distinguished himself by his singular use of metal: braided steel wire.
Thanks to this finely detailed braiding technique, he reappropriated space, geometry and organic forms, touching on both sculpture and furniture.
Metal brings visual lightness and comfort to his pieces.

When presenting a series of wire mesh prototypes to Florence and Hans Knoll in Pennsylvania, Bertoia demonstrated their sturdiness and comfort by sitting on them himself. Florence Knoll, impressed by her boldness and originality, immediately agreed to produce them and encouraged Bertoia to pursue her artistic explorations.
The “Diamond Armchair” is one of the symbols of 20th-century design!

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