Eileen Gray

Eileen Gray ( born August 9, 1878 in Enniscorthy as Kathleen Eileen Moray Smith, County Wexford, † 31 October 1976) was an Irish interior designer and designer. It is one of the most important designers of the early 20th century.

Life

Eileen Gray was born in Ireland on the family estate Brownwood at Enniscorthy in County Wexford, the youngest among five siblings. She studied from 1898 to 1902 at the Slade School of Art in London and then moved to Paris, where she managed to enter 1922 in the art scene through their participation in the exhibition, Union des Artistes Modernes. This enabled her to starting your own workshop. During and after the war she worked as a designer and architect. In 1972, she was appointed by the Royal Society of Arts in London for the " Royal Designer to Industry ". In 1987 the Museum of Modern Art in New York their Adjustable Table E 1027 in its design collection on.

She began her design career with designs of exclusive lacquer furniture, in which the decay- time spirit of Art Nouveau and Japonism was visible. Seizo Sugawara, a Japanese lacquer artist, was next to an apprenticeship in a London bodyshop, one of their sources of knowledge regarding this craft. But the evolving aesthetics of the Art Deco - Emile -Jacques Ruhlmann be mentioned here - they influenced, even if their designs came gradually less and less opulent, less elitist and thus were decidedly more modern. But parallel to the individual objects they also developed interior concepts. Around 1920 she met the Romanian architect and editor of the major architectural magazine L'Architecture Vivante Jean Badovici know in whose radius is such an important creative as Fernand Léger, Gerrit Riet Vield and Le Corbusier moved. Badovici encouraged them to venture even to architectural projects. So they realized in 1925 on a coastal property on the French Riviera their first home - the E.1027 (see work: architecture). An example of their style is in this draft, and economically they interlocked space and land use planning and furnishing so becomes an essential part of the architecture. This becomes noticeable in the numerous she designed built-in furniture that allow a viable and flexible use of the house and the furniture in harmony with the designed also by their single units (see also works: Design). The White House gets involved entirely on the environment and the issue of " sea " and " coastal " integrated in a modern way in the architecture, is another characteristic of the power -sensitive design from Eileen Gray.

In addition to her design work, she opened in Paris, the Galerie Jean Désert in May 1922. Presented here and drove them off their designs, which included, in addition to furniture, carpets, and above all their screens. Still a few buildings designing, Eileen Gray lived in retirement in Paris or in their house in Menton near their first house E.1027. Their furniture sold only in small numbers and isolated, although they made in professional circles again and again stir through journal articles and invitations to exhibitions. So they came over the years after the construction of their internationally much-discussed house E.1027 and other designs outside of specialist circles gradually into oblivion. Only in the waning 20th century their work was rediscovered and appreciated their significant achievement for the Modern Design. This is reflected, among other things, the re-editions of their designs and of exceptional prices for their vintage objects at design auctions resist. The now well finally taking place rescue her house E.1027 ( see Factory: Architecture ) by the public sector in France is to be seen in this context. The Centre Pompidou in Paris was preparing a major exhibition for the year 2013.

Perhaps it is the testimony of Eileen Gray, which may be interpreted as a counter-position to Le Corbusier's coining of the term " machine for living ", good to use as a characterization of its architecture understanding: "A house is not a machine in which one lives, it is something like a. " shell " of man - be reaching out into the environment, ( ... ), his emanation ". The same certainly applies to the furniture designs, can be like a situationally stimulated emanation of each user to adjust the current needs.

Work: Design

Eileen Gray realized a few, nonetheless outstanding architectural projects. Legendary is the widely publicized, designed on behalf of your former partner Jean Badovici Villa in Cap Martin Roquebrune ( 'E -1027 '). The villa Tempe a Pailla was built in 1932 by her in Castellar (Alpes -Maritimes), on a hill above the town of Menton. It was her second home on the Côte d' Azur.

Despite a distinctive, consistently modern architectural style is based Eileen Gray Present reputation primarily on their furniture designs. Some of its main objects are produced again and also frequently plagiarized in re-editions since the 1970s. So you E.1027 table is still one of the most copied designs of classic modernism.

Her early drafts dissolve gradually from the influences of Art Nouveau and Japonism, which determined the aesthetics of the early 20th century in Europe. Clearly identify this development to their designs for screens that dominated the beginning of her career. At the start of decorative Art Nouveau and neoclassical tendencies synthesizing and thus the Art Deco related parties, they developed their style further by letting the figurative decor in favor of a geometric shape repertoire behind. In line with this simplified development and functionalized them to the basic design of their designs. How much defined the development for the functionality design element determining the aesthetics Eileen Gray, becomes clear when you have an early folding screen in 1912 with the block - screen from 1925 compares: the decorative moment now follows logically without detours from the stringent cultivation of the functionals. For the Beautiful no application is necessary, it is rather indirect result of modern thinking approach form follows function. Above all, as a result of this step was from the artisans of the 19th century, the designers of the 20th century. In principle, Eileen Gray developed this aesthetic in parallel and in an exchange with the Bauhaus movement and Le Corbusier. With this, and among other things, JJP Oud with, she stood by the European exchange of ideas within the avant-garde design in conjunction.

Exemplary for their design style is her Adjustable table E -1027 (see photo): it can be the circumstance, adjust the height, slide the stand under the chair and move around easily on the handle. The use of modern materials - such as steel pipe and glass here - is also a feature of their designs. Noteworthy is their ability to often to give their designs by reduction and formal simplicity in addition a symbolic clarity. In the harmony of these features results in a design that developed in its practical impetus and its functional elegance very own aura. The creative atmosphere in Paris where the exclusive and elitist elegance of French Art Deco met the formalist reduction of democratically minded constructivism, so it looks found in their designs to a synthesis. Their acquaintance with the avant-garde circles of the Union des Artistes Modernes (Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé, Robert Mallet- Stevens) introduced her to the trends of design and architecture modernism. The contemporary materials more and more used to it - aluminum sheet, cork, vellum, steel pipe - show the modernity of their design ideal which saw no relevant value added more in the use of exclusive materials ( a taste of Art Deco ) as Makassarholz, ivory, piano lacquer and Roche skin. The Bibendum Chair ( see photo ), also a design for E -1027, is another example of the new unpretentious but elegant and modern style, the Eileen Gray developed.

Work: Architecture

Together with the Romanian architect Jean Badovici her then partner, she realized until 1929 their first dwelling house E.1027 in Roquebrune - Cap Martin on the French Riviera, a few meters above the rocky shore across the bay of Monaco,. The name is a code abbreviation from E for Eileen, 10 for Jean ( the tenth letter of the alphabet ), 2 for Badovici and 7 for Gray. Equipped with an L- shaped plan, a flat roof and floor to ceiling windows, created a both rational and self-contained as well a the environment inside of exemplary construction of the International Modern. Gray also designed all the equipment and created designs that are still popular classics in their synthesis of modernity and design of technical elegance and restraint today ( Side: Adjustable table E -1027, Chair: Bibendum ). Following the aesthetic maxim of the overall design she designed functional built-in furniture. , The cautious such as walls or objects acting, the other facilities were sufficient space and effect.

This modern pragmatic interpretation of the interaction between design, interior design and architecture reflected then in many other projects of the international avant-garde architecture resist: particularly exemplary in Paris Maison de verre (1932 completed ). by Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet. Here are inseparable architecture and interior design: versatile usable and innovative designed built-in furniture are like the E -1027 also creatively part of the house. The exemplary quality of this concept was quickly recognized and found in late 1929 reflected in the architectural magazine L'Architecture Vivante. There dedicated Eileen Gray's life partner Jean Badovici her house E -1027 an entire issue. ( This edition is published in France as a re-edition ( see literature) )

Le Corbusier was impressed by this house and was a frequent guest, even after the departure of Eileen Gray in 1932, which resulted from the end of the relationship with Badovici. He realized with the approval Badovicis large-sized brightly colored murals that looked Eileen Gray as an intrusion into their design and so led to a rift and long-standing disputes with Le Corbusier. Through several changes of ownership and unfortunate circumstances, the house fell over the years in an ever desolateren condition characterized by vandalistische attacks in the unguarded house culminated in the late 90s. In 1999, the French State and the community did Roquebrune - Cap Martin together to protect the architectural monument: It was declared a National Monument and French culture is introduced into the public institution Conservatoire du Littoral. Temporary security measures but were supplemented by no more substantial commitment. Only in the year 2008, an extensive renovation was undertaken. The official plans, which the French State, the Department Alpes Maritimes and the commune of Roquebrune - zuwiesen Cap Martin execution sovereignty on the reorganization saw before that the restoration of the building as well as the interior work with national heritage aspects and the design of the outdoor facilities during the 2009 should be completed. The total cost of the rescue of these incunabula of 20th century architecture has cost, according to one of the companies involved in the reorganization about 600 000 Euro.

One of the biggest - and most interesting in terms of the solution - problems that restoration is not only whether and how the well-documented furniture could be restored (which is now priceless originals in 1991 auctioned by the then owner, the built-in furniture are mostly destroyed ), but also for which solution has been chosen with respect to the Eileen Gray vehemently rejected murals Le Corbusier: the interested public is no official source of information, unfortunately, was created, which documented the facts collected. Partly information can be found at the Conservatoire du Littoral and a company involved in the restoration

Eileen Gray designed very few other buildings: In the early 30s a villa ( Tempe Pailla a ) very near Roquebrune, after she had left E.1027 favor Badovicis. At the age of 75 years she built for himself at Saint- Tropez an existing home to their vacation home, Lou Pérou referred to.

Vintage objects: Prices on the art market

Eileen Gray's rare vintage objects are in demand with a rising trend since the 70s in the art / design trade and auctioning business. This applies both to her early, the decaying Art Nouveau pledged designs, as well as for their later decidedly more modern objects. The key for the value - and the increase in value - is that the object is not a posthumous implementation of a design. Rather, the work of their hands must come, it must therefore be worked by itself or to have been made ​​under their supervision. The designs of Eileen Gray achieve these days, in part because such high prices because many of her designs are often unique or were produced in very small numbers. There are, for example, from their brick- Pravents 12 copies, but they all really are unique, because it varied the dimensions and design.

A current signal their importance to the art and design trade put the prices at the Christie's auction Collection Yves Saint Laurent et Pierre Bergé in Paris from 23 - have been achieved 25 February 2009. Four objects from the different creative periods were auctioned and achieved some of exceptionally high prices. For a decorative sideboard with Art Nouveau appeal - one of their paint work - from 1915/1917 a price close to the (very optimistically scheduled ) lower estimate of 3.985 million euros. A little later console of 1920 documented their stylistic development very well: designed arbitrator, this lacquer furniture is close to the Art Deco and brought a price of EUR 2.305 million well above the upper estimate. The bidding contest for a chair design from 1917/19 proved to be very exciting: estimated at 2,000,000 Euros upper tax, the exoticising fauteuil aux Dragons played a an amount which is the highest ever recorded price for a piece of furniture of the 20th century. Finally 21.905 million euros were granted for this design. And from 1925 comes a of exceptional and stunning modern lamp design (Satellite ), which grossed more than the upper estimate of 800.00 euros a price of EUR 2.977 million.

A clue for price developments and the increasing appreciation of the designs from Eileen Gray is a look at past auction results. In 1980, the lamp Satellite Sotheby's in Monaco ( Collection Eileen Gray, 05/25/1980, Lot 298) was sold for 18,000 francs ( the equivalent of about 3,000 euros ) - the estimate at the time was 3/4.000 Franc. And a folding screen from 1930 /32 - a design for the E -1027 - brought up there a yield of about 2500 euro. 2003 played this object at an estimate of USD 30/50.000 in New York ( Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg, June 11, 2003) $ 107,550 a. Another copy of this design was sold for € 1.353.00 in Paris ( Christie's 29 March 2011).

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