Los Muebles de Charles y Ray Eames

Vitra & Vinçon

04/06/12. (Sala 286)

Vinçon & Vitra present this exhibition to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Ray Eames.

The exhibition is made up of 7 thematic cubes organized by materials such as plywood, plastic, wire and aluminium. The designs are presented with unconventional descriptions of its construction which lets you see the elements of each piece. You will be able to understand the complex development process which eventually led to his famous furniture.

Parts of the chair, illustrations and historical photographs show the peculiarities of the constuction of the objects on display, as well as the trial and error process that was so important for the work of Charles & Ray Eames.

Among the keys to success of the designs created by the couple is the mix of two talents and skills that are combined to perfection. Ray had artistic training, Charles was an architect. Two sensitivities that led them to a furniture design concept marked by constructive intelligence, care for detail and rejection of all that is accidental and coincidental.

In 1957 Vitra manufactured the first piece, from this point on a close relationship developed between the Eameses and their work which Vitra currently maintains.

Charles y Ray Eames

The extensive and diverse oeuvre of Charles and Ray Eames is the result of an extraordinarily productive collaboration. During the four decades of their work together, the Eameses produced not only many groundbreaking furniture designs, but also significant architectural works, exhibitions, films, graphics and an immense number of photographs. The unique historical importance of the Eameses is grounded in the quality and breadth of their work. They have had a seminal influence on our understanding of design and the role of the designer in modern society.

Charles Eames was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in the year 1907. After architectural studies in St. Louis, he took a position at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he began to develop innovative furniture designs in collaboration with Eero Saarinen. Ray Eames was born in 1912 as Bernice Alexandra Kaiser in Sacramento, California. During the 1930s, she studied under the German painter Hans Hofmann in New York and Provincetown. Charles and Ray became acquainted at Cranbrook in 1940. They were married one year later and moved to Los Angeles, where they began their joint career.

Shortly after the end of World War II, the Eameses’ early designs for moulded plywood furniture, which had been preceded by many years of experimentation, went into series production. During the following years they developed a wide range of revolutionary furniture designs, often using innovative materials. Their designs reflect a combination of Charles’ architectural background and structural approach with Ray’s artistic training and sure sense of colour, line and shape.

Charles Eames died in 1978; Ray followed him ten years later, in 1988. Yet their work, which embodies their humanist perspectives and visions, has remained permanently relevant and vital. Around the world, people continue to furnish their homes and offices with Eames designs, and to draw inspiration from their fascinating oeuvre.