While working at his studio one day, a wire unexpectedly bent and emitted a sound. Harry Bertoia was enraptured by the idea of works that moved and resounded. He later said, "I build sculptures that can move in the wind, or that can be touched and played.” These new sculptures, rather informally named by Bertoia as Sonambients, became his masterworks and dominated the latter half of his career.
“I build sculptures that can move in the wind, or that can be touched and played.”
—Harry BertoiaLike an inventor in his laboratory, Bertoia created the Sonambient Barn, where he could masterfully tweak the material and scale of each piece to bring forth an enunciated emotion. Depending on the number and length of the rods, the weight and size of the caps, and the treatment of the material, each Sonambient could evoke sensations of euphoria or melancholy. “Joy, suffering, happiness, sorrow,” Bertoia reflected, “you happen to have a bit of metal in your hands, you just shape it.” Bertoia's deep connection to metal as a medium allowed him to imbue it with a range of emotions.
With only two rods and lengthened beryllium copper caps set at staggering height, the present sculpture stands like water reeds bending and swaying with dramatic movement. This wonderfully attenuated example was exhibited at the National Academy of Sciences in the spring of 1976 and has was acquired by Philadelphia collectors Gabriel and Robert Lee at some point before 1980.
Provenance
Mangel Gallery, Philadelphia Gabriele & Robert Lee, Philadelphia, acquired from the above, before 1980 Thence by descent to the present owner
Exhibited
"Sculpture by Bertoia," Garden Room at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., spring 1976
Literature
Celia Bertoia, The Life and Work of Harry Bertoia: The Man, the Artist, the Visionary, Atglen, 2015, p. 225 for a similar example
circa 1976 Beryllium copper, bronze. 100 x 14 x 14 in. (254 x 35.6 x 35.6 cm) Together with a certificate of authenticity from the Harry Bertoia Foundation.