Bird Chair
The Bird Chair is an astounding study in space, form and function by one
of the master sculptors of the last century. Like Saarinen and Mies, Bertoia
found sublime grace in an industrial material, elevating it beyond its normal
utility into a work of art. Harry Bertoia’s wire chairs are among the most
recognized achievements of mid-century modern design and a proud part of the
Knoll heritage.
Characteristic of the early environment at Knoll, Hans and Florence
never demanded that Bertoia design furniture, but instead encouraged him to
explore whatever he liked. They simply asked that if he arrived at something
interesting, to show them. Bertoia later explained the process:
“I went around and discovered, quite soon, that I was not the man to do
research. My feeling was that had to come from an inward direction. I began to
rely once more on my own body. I began to think in terms of what I would like
as a chair. It started very slowly…I came into rod or wire, whether bent of
straight. I seemed to find myself at home. It was logical to make an attempt
utilizing the wire.
"Once more, I went through the procedure of positioning,
considering the possibility of shapes, then relating, of course, what the wire
itself could be, what shapes it might take, whether there were any tools to do
it with. There are many aspects of the same things coming into one’s mind, but
the very first thing was whether a shape would come up that would begin to
serve as a chair, sitting on it, etc. One was taking the shape of a side chair;
another was beginning to extend to care of the head. This developed to the
point where something could be held on to…You know, when you have something in
front of you that can really physically be held, it becomes easier to make
changes.”