Harry Bertoia at Sotheby’s

“… a sculptural element breaking silence, it has a voice, hence we listen to it, maybe there’s something to say.” Harry Bertoia

This selling exhibit focuses on the ability of motion and space to mimic three-dimensional effects. Bertoia’s work marries aesthetic ideals and intellectual concepts to create abstract forms often inspired by those found in nature. The result? Non-stop interaction with the objects which brought sound, and occasionally, some laughter. Assembled in the 2nd floor gallery are more than 30 sculptures which range in size from monumental to diminutive and offer a comprehensive look at his career comprising some of the finest examples of the artist’s organic and sonambient works ever to appear on the market.

The star lot of the exhibition is Bertoia’s sculpture screens from 1959 (installed in the lobby of the auction house, they will be on public view through the duration of the show), which were originally commissioned for the First National Bank of Miami and later privately acquired and gifted to the University of Virginia. The screens were a personal favorite. They’re so large, yet so inviting at the same time. These sculptures were among his most important commissions and were on the University of Virginia School of Architecture’s campus.

In the sculptures, I am concerned primarily with space, form and the characteristics of metal.” Harry Bertoia