Harry BertoiaAmerican, 1915–1978Tonal Sculpture
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Tonal Sculpture” now? Collection: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Cleveland, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
"I accidentally struck one rod when I wanted to bend it. The sound echoed in my mind for a very long time." In those words Harry Bertoia explains the genesis of a large group of works which he called "sounding pieces." The largest number of these works are based on groups of interacting wires, but he also expanded his notion of sculpture that produces audible tones to include "singing bars" and gongs. Bertoia set up a remodeled barn in 1968–69 to hold his special collection of tonal sculptures and to function as a sound recording studio. He gave small concerts to visitors and friends and recorded 11 albums of the haunting sounds of sculpture known as "Sonambient" during his lifetime.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Details
- Accession number
- 1979.139
In the catalog
Sources
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art — © Estate of Harry Bertoia / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
