This work is one of Bertoia’s many “tonal” or sounding sculptures which combines visual and auditory experiences. The artist occasionally held private concerts for friends and guests in his barn, which held over 100 of his tonal sculptures and served as a recording studio for eleven albums. He also created furniture, jewelry, and dozens of public sculptures, often collaborating with architects who admired his work.

This abstract sculpture is at once refined and playful, elegant and amusing. Bertoia embraced the interactive nature of his creations, experimenting with materials and scale to achieve a wide range of sounds. The weight of the cylinders that cap the rods of this work exaggerate its motion and enhance its resonant tones.