Eileen Gray
"To be creative, you first have to question everything." - Eileen Gray
Eileen Gray was one of the few women to become famous for her furniture designs in the early 20th century. Born into an Irish-Scottish aristocratic family, she went to London and Paris - her adopted home - to study architecture and design. She settled there at the age of 26. Almost as if by magic, the art student Eileen became an artisan. A dazzling, multi-talented, modern woman. An avant-gardist through and through.
But Gray must be described as an underground talent, an insider tip. She did not experience commercial success for years - until shortly before her death. With her influential design and architectural theories, she nevertheless shaped our idea of living. Her work in both areas is still emblematic of classic modernism and was characterised by De Stijl, originality and a pinch of irony.
As an interior designer, Gray created spectacular rooms for fashion designers and art collectors - in the Oriental and Far Eastern fashion of the time, but with her own recognisable signature: lascivious and full of sophistication. Gray's furniture made of tubular steel, chrome and glass - revolutionary at the time of its creation - is still considered a classic today. Just think of the Bibendum armchair or her Adjustable Table, one of the most famous and most copied designs in the world
