I'm embarrassed and shocked. That in my 31 years--surrounded by artists and designers, engrossed in art + architectural history classes at expensive art schools that I've never heard of Eileen Gray until this fall. Alas she was born into a man's era in 1878. She designed for 7 of the nearly 10 centuries that she lived. Imagine, such talent and diverse skill practiced for 70 years, pioneering the modern art movement yet without the education, mentoring, or recognition received by her peers: all because was a woman.
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| Eileen Gray flanked by Le Corbusier and Jean Badovici |
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| Eileen Gray's Rue de Bonaparte apartment, Paris |
She was a gifted painter, lacquer artist, furniture designer, and architect (E-1027 in Roquebrune Cap Martin) whose influence was vast on the modern + art déco movements. I love that many of her designs are whimsical, sexy, funny, and simply beautiful. She had an unusual sense of atmosphere in her designs; an innate sense of negative space where a bowl or a chair or a room is inhabited by something or someone.
That her publicly-known history is half gossip, and that she went largely unrecognized and unknown until recently is not surprising and unacceptable. The story goes like this: she was a contemporary and supposedly longtime unrequited love interest of architect Le Corbusier (who drowned while oddly swimming off the cliffs of her house in the French Mediterranean). He was and perhaps continues to be credited with many of her designs.
The Dragon Chair was recently sold as part of Yves St. Laurent's collection for $28.3 million:
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| Nonconformist Chair |
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| Transnat Chair |
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| Transnat Chairs, Pair |
She's perhaps most commonly known for her very modernist Bibendum Chair:
Much of her work doesn't conform to the restrained army chant of modernists: "form follows function" (because sometimes design moves must be purely intuitive) like this lotus lacquered + tasseled table, benches, screens, and chaise longue below:
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| Rue de Lota apartment with her Pirogue chaise longue (also pictured below with lacquered screen) |
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| Lacquered screen |
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| Wall painting at the house she designed, E1027 in 1926 for Jean Badovici |
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| Dressing table |
DWR should be ashamed that they only carry one mediocre modernist piece, a side table.
Thanks to RISD professor, designer, chef Peter Tagiuri for introducing me to the intuition-driven work of this talented woman.
If you're interested in hearing my take on why it was she designed spaces so well, I'd be happy to elaborate. Thoughts?
