The iconic Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia for Knoll, originally designed in 1952, in black coated metal and red faux leather cushion. The Diamond Chair is, according to Knoll, an astounding study in space, form and function by one of the master sculptors of the last century. In Bertoia's own words: 'If you look at these chairs, there are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them.' But although these chairs are like a sculpture, Bertoia first though of comfort and went through the the procedure of positioning, considering the possibility of shapes, then relating what the wire could be, what shape it could take. Dick Schultz, who worked with Bertoia on the development of the collection, says of the first chair he saw in prototype form: 'It was remarkable. I was asthonised by the order of it - like something that grew out of nature. The Harry Bertoia’s wire chairs are among the most recognized achievements of mid-century modern design and a proud part of the Knoll heritage. Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) born in Italy, moved to the US at the age of fifteen together with his older brother. He soon discovered his interest and talent for art and design and learned, amongst other things, to make jewelry by hand. With the help of a scholarship Bertoia went to study at the Cranbrook Academy of Art at the age of twenty-two were he met Ray and Charles, Walter Gropius and Florence Knoll. Whilst he first started his career as a jewelry maker, he was invited in 1950 to work with Hans and Florence Knoll. Like Saarinen and Mies, Bertoia found sublime grace in an industrial material, elevating it beyond its normal utility into a work of art. During this time he designed his wire collection that Bertoia is now most known for. Thanks to his succes of the wire collection, he could focus on his main passion: sculpture. Over the span of his life, Bertoia designed more than fifty public sculptures and specialised in the concept of sound sculptures.
Manufacturer: Knoll InternationalEmail Us about this Piece. Item #744