“The monumental sound sculptures, and the one commissioned by the Colorado National Bank [lot 28] in particular, o! er such grandeur, presence and sheer impact. Its tone is richly resonant, thunderously deep, and utterly profound. While my father was perhaps best known for his sonambient sculptures, there were only a handful placed in public view in his lifetime, making it rather rare and certainly special.” —CELIA BERTOIA

Bertoia spent the last nearly twenty years of his life and career focusing on what would become his most iconic and critically acclaimed body of work: his sound sculptures. Enchanted, even transcended by the beautiful tones produced when metal collides with metal, Bertoia sought to synthesize form and sound, creating sculptures that are as much (if not more so) experiential as they are visual and audible. His “sonambients,” as he called them, were the culmination of his life’s work, and are perhaps the most comprehensive and refined realization of the diverse inspirations that shaped his entire oeuvre—material, form, sound and, most of all, nature.

During the 1970s, Bertoia executed several important public sonambient commissions, such as for the Standard Oil Plaza in Chicago, Illinois (1974), Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio (1976), and the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond, VA (1978). The present lot was commissioned for the Colorado National Bank in Denver in 1976 by renowned architect, Minoru Yamasaki, who was best known for designing the World Trade Center in New York. It was exhibited inside the bank, and was complemented by a related largescale sonambient produced by Bertoia for the building’s
exterior (see image left). This lot is distinguished not just by its storied provenance, but by its monumental scale and corresponding impressive measure of sound. It embodies the artist’s full and thorough investigation of the form, and is among the largest sonambients he ever produced.