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Eileen Gray
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Eileen Gray 1878 - 1976 Architect and designer of furniture and ornamental objects Eileen Gray was born into an aristocratic family in Ireland, she received little formal education until she moved to London in 1898 to attend the Slade School of Fine Arts. After graduating, she moved to Paris in 1902 where she studied at the Academie Coloarossi and Academie Julien until 1905. From 1907 to 1914 she was at first apprenticed to, and then worked with Seizo Sugawara, a Japanese master of the art of lacquer. Working with him she became exceptionally proficient in this media, quickly developing a clientele of her own including couturier Paul Poiret. In 1913 she showed her work at the Salon de la Societe des Artistes in Paris. and then from 1915 to 1917 she ran a lacquerwork and furniture workshop in London with Sugawara. At this point she began to quickly extend the range of her design focus - even producing handmade decorative rugs and carpets.This however, was to be merely the first of many styles and mediums that she was to master, eventually assimilating them all into the unique designs with which we associate her. Although her work emerged from an appreciation for French decorative arts, she studied Le Corbusier and the artists exhibiting in early 1900s Paris), we find that much of her work appears to owe little to any specific influence or movement. In the mid 1920s however her style began to change radically, from an emphasis on rich pattern she developed a more modernist aesthetic. In 1924 a special issue of the Dutch avant garrde magazine 'Wendingen' was devoted to her work. From 1926 she worked on architectural designs with Jean Badovici, the Romanian architect, critic and editor of L'Architecture vivante. The projects on which they collaborated include: the Modernist Maison en Bord de Mere (E1027) in the south of France, the living room of which contained the a mural painting by Le Corbusier. The furniture for the house was innovative and modern, making use of new materials like chrome plated metal tubing. In 1937 she displayed a design for a cultural center in Le Corbusier's Pavilion at hte Paris Exposition Universelle of 1937. During the war and for some years later, as the world economy struggled under the burden of the war effort, her work all but dissappeared from public view, and it was not until the 1960s that a resurgence of interest in the modern movement and in her work gave her the attention that she deserved. In the 1970's there were a series of exhibitions of her work at the Royal instutite of British Architecture's Heinz Gallery, The Vicotoria and Albert Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in NY. In 1972 she was elected 'a Royal designer for Industry', becoming a Fellow of the Royal Institure of Irish Architects in the following year. A truly excellent craftsperson, her style has been described as 'chameleon-like' in its range and flexibility; indeed there is an almost schocking contrast between her very appearance, (see image to the left) and such pieces as the Bibendum Armchair |
Modern Furniture Designers
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