“This form is most important to me. I felt that actually what had happened was that I chanced to go to Italy, and the warmth of the sun and the striking charm and beauty of these ancient towns, which I had not seen before, gave me a feeling that the world was actually radiating. So forms done at that time have a blossoming effect.” – Harry Bertoia (Lecture at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1961)

In 1964, Bertoia’s Dandelions were featured in the Kodak building at the New York World’s Fair. Resembling dandelion flowers gone to seed, the installation of seven gold plated sculptures created a dazzling spectacle. A testament to his ongoing fascination with metaphysics, Bertoia's Dandelions examine the dynamics of sculptural purity, and as with much of the artist's work, find their form in nature.

In the present sculpture, Bertoia captured the essence of the ephemeral bloom, preserving the flower in a state of metal whimsicality. With deft craftsmanship and specificity, he welded a collection of wires to corresponding rods that blossom from a spherical core. Here, Bertoia produced a dynamic sense of wonder that finds its shimmering roots in the natural world.