I have a keen interest in design particularly of the art deco period, so when in dublin last week my friend and i visited the
Eileen Gray exhibition at Decorative Arts & History site at Collins Barracks.
"Neglected for most of her career, EILEEN GRAY (1878-1976) is now regarded as one of the most important furniture designers and architects of the early 20th century and the most influential woman in those fields. Her work inspired both modernism and Art Deco.
In the August 1917 issue of British Vogue magazine a writer described the work of Miss Gray, a lacquer artist who had fled her home in Paris to seek refuge in London during World War I. “Influenced by the modernists is Miss Gray’s art, so they say,” it began. “But is it not rather that she stands alone, unique, the champion of a singularly free method of expression.”"
Eileen was irish-born and self-taught and being a woman without a powerful male mentor she did not benefit from their connections and influence like other female designers of the time such as Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand and Mies Van Der Rohe.Her gender and her privileged background left her isolated. Whilst she did receive some recognition for her work while she was alive it was not on the scale to which she is regarded today.
Grey focussed on strong geometric patterns and a clean lacquered effect which is widely regarded as being ahead of it's time.
Sitting on our Eileen Gray chairs in the exhibition watching a
documentary of a vibrant and elegant woman sitting in her parisian apartment, smoking in dark glasses, it was evident that Miss Gray was quite a colourful character indeed. Even in her eighties she possessed an unsurpassable enthusiasm for her work which is still evident in most modern design today.
Posts
