Monday, November 19, 2012

Bertoia at Auction in Los Angeles

There is a lovely little bush for sale at L.A. Modern auctionhouse. The story behind it goes something like this: Harry and his workers often ate their lunch behind the studio in Bally. One day they noticed a large beehive, or maybe a hornet's nest, on the next door building. Harry took great interest in its shape, and soon the beehive bush was created. L.A. Modern wrote about the bush:

https://www.lamodern.com/2012/10/just-in-harry-bertoia-untitled/

L.A. Modern is located at:

16145 Hart Street
Van Nuys, CA 91406
Tel: 323-904-1950
dan@lamodern.com
www.lamodern.com

Friday, October 12, 2012

Talk at Montana State University

Calling all Montanans! Celia Bertoia will speak about her father and bring some original art at Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, in Gaines Hall on Monday, October 15, at noon, in the large lecture hall. This is free and open to the public.
     There is another talk at 1:00 at MSU on October 30 by Celia.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Looking for a Bertoia Bush / Tree

Celia is looking to purchase a bush style Bertoia, perhaps 18" tall or so. Prefer fuller rather than sparse branching, but will consider all. We need one for a Centennial show coming up in 2015. Reply here, or go to the harrybertoia.org website and use the contact.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

TALK & DEMONSTRATION IN BOZEMAN, MT

For my local Bertoia fans in Montana, there will be a Bertoia talk and demo at the Bozeman Public Library on September 13th, 7:00 pm. There will be a number of Bertoia originals to peruse and play, an informative talk, and plenty of time for questions or to go in whatever direction the audience dictates.

This is your chance to meet Celia Bertoia, experience Harry Bertoia sculpture firsthand, and learn about the Mid-Century Modern movement that rocked our world. Whether you are a Bertoia fan already, or have never heard of him, or maybe saw a few Bertoia chairs in a magazine once, this is an opportunity not to be missed.

Talks on Bertoia are not given often in Bozeman - once every few years - so come on down and join us!

Talk in Denver

The Denver Modernism Show at the National Western Complex Expo Hall on Humboldt is coming up on August 24th - 26th. Celia Bertoia, Carla Hartman (Eames), and Susan Saarinen will speak on their famous relatives Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames, and Eero Saarinen.

This is a very fun show with over 100 vendors from across the country covering everything from Art Deco, Retro, Pop, Mid-Century Modern, furniture, art, gadgets, cars and more. There is even a "Miss Modernism" pageant Friday night.

Check out www.denvermodernism.com for details. The Bertoia talk begins at 2:00 on Saturday. This is the sixth year and it has grown in size and popularity every year. Come on down to join us!

Saturday, July 14, 2012

M & T Bank in Buffalo, NY, has restored the Bertoia fountain sculpture. This is a huge bronze welded organic looking piece nearly 50 years old. For those of you in upstate New York, I recommend a visit to this magnificent piece. A brief article explaining the restoration is here: https://www.mtb.com/aboutus/community/Pages/Past-New-York-Events.aspx

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Joe Fresh video - wonderful

If you haven't seen the Joe Fresh video on Harry Bertoia's huge panel sculpture in New York, take a few minutes to watch an uplifting story: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoMFtO6o1pI
A little background: the 70' screen was installed in 1954 at the bank on 5th Avenue. The glass fronted building allowed passersby to see the sculpture clearly from the exterior, so the piece became somewhat of a New York landmark. When, after a change of ownership, the heavy screen was removed, there was a public outcry. After a lawsuit, blogging protests, and general discontent, the sculpture was returned to the building. This video shows Joe Mimran (founder of Joe Fresh clothing stores) rejoicing in the return of the Bertoia.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Upcoming lectures and events

The Denver Modernism show (see http://denvermodernism.com/events/ ), coming up August 24, 25, 26 of 2012 is a fun, huge event dedicated to Mid Century Modern design, autos, clothes, furniture, everything. On Saturday, 2:00 pm the Daughters of Design, with Susan Saarinen,
Celia Bertoia and Carla (Eames ) Hartman, will discuss modern design in terms of their relatives Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, and Charles Eames. More details to follow as the time grows closer.

On September 13th, 7:00 pm, in my hometown of Bozeman, Montana, a presentation on Harry Bertoia will be accompanied by several original sculptures, and a special surprise. All Montanan modern art lovers, be sure to be there! Out-of-staters welcome, too. This is a free talk at the Bozeman Public Library. More details to follow later in the summer.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Authenticating Bertoias

I find various blogs discussing the difficulty of authenticating Bertoias. This is indeed a problem, since Bertoia rarely signed his pieces, believing that a work of art speaks for itself and needs no ownership. Although it is a generous and wonderful concept, it has created challenges for those of us who follow him. Val Bertoia, son of Harry, at http://bertoiastudio.com/north.html  is still your best bet for validating the real deal in sculpture. If it is a monoprint or painting, find me, Celia Bertoia, daughter, via http://harrybertoia.org/contact.html.  One thing I can say is that a true Harry Bertoia always has a feel of integrity and high quality craftsmanship. He was very skilled and did not cut corners in workmanship.

Friday, April 20, 2012

CHECK OUT FACEBOOK

When you are on Facebook seeing what your friends are up to, remember to check out http://www.facebook.com/#!/harry.bertoia
There is a lot of fun stuff there, a video, photos that are not on the website, little tidbits.
Thanks!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

NO Susquehana show - misunderstanding

Hello Bertoia followers,

Due to my own misunderstanding, I previously erroneously stated that in June the monoprints would be displayed at Susquehana. They are in the middle of a renovation and will not be ready by then. So, there is NO SHOW at Susquehana right now, but maybe in a year or two...

In the meantime, I am looking to do a couple of Bertoia presentations closer to my Montana home. I will not announce anything yet, as details have not yet been set, but stay tuned for more by the summer.

I am still discovering amazing facts about my father, as I gather data to write his biography. I can hardly find anyone to say a bad thing about the guy; most praise him as full of integrity, honesty, and compassion. This is unusual for a famous artist; but then most everything was unusual about my father. He was humble, kind, and passionate.

If you have any tales to tell about your Bertoia piece, or the time you met him, or ???  please tell me!

Happy Trails for now.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Monoprint Exhibition at Ursinis College in April

An exhibition of the prized monoprints of Harry Bertoia will begin in April at the Berman Museum on the Ursinis College campus in Collegeville (near Philadelphia), PA. Bertoia highly valued these rarely seen graphics, and his wife Brigitta said they were the unseen treasures of her husband. We will fill you in on details as they develop.

An exhibition of the monoprints will follow at the Susquehanna Art Museum in June; details to follow. The monoprints probably will not be on display until 2015 after this show. We are gearing up for a big centennial celebration (Bertoia was born in 1915) in 2015.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Lecture in St. Louis

Come hear Celia Bertoia speak about her father Harry Bertoia at Gallery 210 of University of Missouri at St. Louis, MO. The address is: 44 East Drive, One University Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63121   and phone: (314) 516-5952. 6:00 PM. The exhibition of monoprints will be open to all and the talk is free. Hope to meet you there!