# The Wire Chair Is Mostly Made of Air by Harry Bertoia > “In the sculpture I am concerned primarily with space, form, and the characteristics of metal. In the chairs many functional problems have to be satisfied first…but when you get right down to it, the chairs are studies in space, form and metal too. If you will look at them, you will find that they are mostly made of air, just like sculpture. Space passes right through them.” > **— Harry Bertoia**, *On his welded steel-rod chairs for Knoll, 1952* ## Sources and Context - **Museum record of the full passage:** [Side chair, designed 1951 by Harry Bertoia — Victoria and Albert Museum](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O181076/) — the V&A catalogue entry for accession CIRC.88&A-1969 reproduces the passage and cites R. Hollis, *Modern Chairs: 1918–1970* (Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 1970). It records that Hans and Florence Knoll engaged Bertoia in 1950 as a sculptor with a free brief, and that his welded steel-rod chairs entered production in 1952–53. - **Editorial note:** The ellipsis appears in the V&A’s published text; the omitted words are not reproduced there. A widely circulated shorter version (“If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them.”) varies in wording; the poster follows the museum-cited text. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/American|American Collection]] - **American route:** [[american/American Aesthetic - Interior Design and Space Composition|Interior Design and Space Composition]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Harry Bertoia|Harry Bertoia]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “In the sculpture I am concerned primarily with space, form, and the characteristics of metal. In the chairs many functional problems have to be satisfied first…but when you get right down to it, the chairs are studies in space, form and metal too. If you will look at them, you will find that they are mostly made of air, just like sculpture. Space passes right through them.” — Harry Bertoia, On his welded steel-rod chairs for Knoll, 1952 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-harry-bertoia-chairs-made-of-air ```