DesignerDeco

Eileen Gray

Posted on 17. Feb, 2009 by DesignerDeco in Modern Furniture Designers

Almost unmentioned throughout the whole course of her life, Eileen Gray now lives on in her innovations in furniture design.

The personal life of Eileen Gray

Eileen Gray was born to an affluent family in Ireland in 1878. By 1900, Gray attended the Slade School of Art and went with her mother to the International Exposition in Paris. She was then prompted to relocate from London to Paris with friends from Slade. By 1905, however, she had to return to London to care for her sick mother. Upon her return to London, she developed an interest in lacquer painting. She returned to Paris and under the tutelage of lacquer master, Sugiwara, Gray learned the art of lacquer painting. She exhibited her works and garnered some interest from prominent figures that finally led to the sale and commission of her works.

Gray also tried her hand at architecture, conceptualizing and designing a home near Monaco. Dubbed as the E-1027, it was an L-shaped house with a flat roof and very high windows. By this time, she got acquainted with design luminaries Le Corbusier and Jean Badovici, who encouraged her to show more of her architectural talents.

Wars broke out and Gray never fully got back on track in the designing world. Despite Le Corbusier and Jean Badovici getting recognized for their abilities, the world forgot about Eileen Gray until in 1968 when a magazine mentioned her name and praised her pieces. Her signature pieces of furniture were put back into production.

The design ethics of Eileen Gray

In her heyday, Gray has been described by fellow designer Jean Badovici as “the center of the modern movement. Badovici even went on to saying that, “She knows that our time, with its new possibilities of living, necessitates new ways of feeling.” Her background in lacquer painting led her to come up with designs that were somehow impinged by the principles of the fine and tedious art.

Popular works of Eileen Gray

Lacquer paintings

After studying under Sugawara, Gray was able to exhibit her works of lacquered panels in the Salon des Artistes in 1913. Here, she garnered the attention of the royalty and famous personalities of the time.

The Pirogue

One of her attempts at furniture design was the notable canoe-shaped daybed called the Pirogue. This piece was decorated impressively with brown lacquer and silver leaf.

The E-1027 table and the Bibendum Chair

innovation were also Gray’s famous works when it came to designing furniture. The E-1027 table was Gray’s take on the then in-fashion use of tubular steel in furniture as perpetuated by the Bauhaus movement. This unique table was made of glass and tubular steel. Gray is said to have made this piece for a sister who loved to eat breakfast in bed. The Bibendum Chair also made use of tubular metal but was a more rotund and sensual take on furniture. It’s U-shaped backrests mirrored the design of the E-1027 table.

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