Yellow and Red, Harry Bertoia

Artwork Overview

Harry Bertoia, Yellow and Red
Harry Bertoia, Yellow and Red
Harry Bertoia
Yellow and Red
1958
Harry Bertoia
1915–1978
Yellow and Red, 1958
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: paint; metal
Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 75.7 x 76.8 x 10.8 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 29 13/16 x 30 1/4 x 4 1/4 in
Credit line: Bequest of Donald Hatch in memory of Mary Bole Hatch to the University of Kansas; transferred to the Spencer Museum of Art from the School of Architecture and Design
Accession number: 1980.0205
Not on display
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Images

Label texts

Exhibition Label:
"Forms of Thought," Mar-2014, Kris Ercums
In the 1940s, Harry Bertoia began to experiment with wire to create spatial configurations that were light and appeared to float. The kinetic sculpture above conveys the precision of machinery and is designed to pivot and sway freely in the air. The colorful sculptural panel installed on the wall was part of his exploration of the interplay of light achieved in architectual settings.
One prevailing characteristic of sculpture if the interplay of void and matter. The void being of it is not exageration to say, the reality of sculpture is to be found in the void. Matter simply being an introductory device to the esstential.
~Harry Bertoia, “Light and Structure,”

Exhibitions

Forms of Thought
Kris Ercums, curator
2014–2015
Forms of Thought
Kris Ercums, curator
2016–2021
Art for Ava
Kate Meyer, curator
2020

Resources

Audio

Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Yellow and Red is a sculpture in the Spencer Museum of Art on the Kansas University campus. It is in the Forms of Thought gallery. Harry Bertoia created this piece in the mid-1900s out of brass, steel, ebony, pewter, and paint. He started to use this technique in the 1940s. He wanted to make things light and to seem like they are floating. The framework on Yellow and Red is complex on how the wire is from the back to front. The wires are so connected that it looks like it is one long wire. Harry, at the age of 15 was given the choice to stay in his hometown in Italy or move to Detroit. He decided that he wanted to move and went to Detroit. After learning the language and the bus schedule, he enrolled in Cass Technical High School, where he studied art and design and learned the skill of handmade jewelry making. After that, he started as an art student. Then, he was soon asked to take over the metal workshop in 1939. Most of his work after that was all steel work. Yellow and Red captures his work forms all in one piece: the steel work, the triangles with color, and the color blend. The steel shows all of his sculptures, the yellow and red shows his canvas work, and the color blend is from jewelry. He also made another similar piece where the framework is aligned vertically instead of horizontally and using different colors, but those are the only two like this piece of art. In the Spencer Museum of Art, the piece is one of the most colorful in that gallery. When you first walk up it looks like it is a flat piece but as you get closer it has different levels. The leaves turn into a mix of shades of yellows and red that reminds me of fire. Some of the reasons that I picked this pieces is because of the color blend. Like I said before, it reminded me of fire. Fire has been in my life a lot. Since I am a scout, camping and fire means a lot to me. Fire, in my eyes, also look destructive how it can burn thing too fast with brush fires. Because of the rows the color looks like to me it goes on and on and on. To many people, it can look different to each person. What does it mean to you? This was Zachary Pitts with another Bulldog Podcast.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour