Harry Bertoia: Void and Matter is a monographic survey of the artist’s work, from his abstract monoprints, organic jewelry, and innovative wire furniture to his freestanding metal sculptures, large-scale commissions, and groundbreaking sounding sculptures. The forthcoming exhibition and catalog debut at Cranbrook Art Museum on June 18, 2027, and the show will be on view through February 27, 2028.

Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) arrived in Detroit as a teenager from his native Italy, studying at Cass Technical High School and the Detroit Society of Arts & Crafts before coming to Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1937. The artist’s far-ranging interests and work across diverse media exemplify the Academy’s interdisciplinary spirit of experimentation.

A highlight of this engaging curatorial discussion is the announcement of the Harry Bertoia Foundation’s generous gift of twenty-six sounding sculptures to Cranbrook Art Museum. This exceptional collection first belonged to Bertoia’s Sonambient Barn in Barto, Pennsylvania, where the artist assembled his orchestra of 100 sculptures in the last decade of his life. In celebration of this generous gift, Cranbrook Art Museum is planning a series of public programs and tours, including special commissions and performances of these tonal works.

Papers and photographs from the Bertoia Foundation have also been gifted to Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. With these and other recent acquisitions, Cranbrook will hold one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Bertoia’s works in the world.

Presenters: Andrew Satake Blauvelt is the Director of Cranbrook Art Museum. Bridget Bartal is the MillerKnoll Special Projects Curator, Cranbrook Art Museum.

cranbrookartmuseum.org