80 Years of Design Charles & Ray Eames Office Celebrates Legendary Designs with Tokyo Exhibition
A quick refresher on iconic duo Charles & Ray Eames are their groundbreaking designs in the world of mid-century modern and low cost, mass-produced furniture. They were a married couple with backgrounds in architecture, design, fine art and even film. Famous for their molded fiberglass, molded plastic, bent plywood and leather loungers, you will find their legendary furniture on the sets of classic television shows, timeless films and in present day, popular movies and TV series. Of course, their designs (some of which are valuable reproductions) are still being sold like hotcakes through various furniture stores and antique dealers.
Their design studio, Eames Office, founded in 1941, celebrated 80 years this November 2021. To kickoff the celebration, an “80 Years of Design” exhibition at Isetan The Space Gallery in Tokyo, Japan will be held from November 5th 2021 until January 5th 2022.
80 Years of Design Exhibition starts as a 20 foot timeline giving visitors a history lesson in 8 decades of Charles and Ray Eames design. It begins with their history as duo, Ray’s continued work following the death of Charles, and the Eames Office current projects into present day. Some of the classic pieces of the exhibition include: a scale model of the 1949 Eames House, a limited edition reproduction of the original Eames Molded Plywood Sculpture, a special edition of the1941 Eames Plywood Mobile, and iconic décor such as 1945 Eames Elephant.
New collaborations include: a project with Globe, skateboard company, made partially from the eucalyptus trees on the actual Eames house property, a partnership with Reebok, shoe company, with special sneaker designs commemorating various Eames works such as the “Monotone Pack” in black and white and the “Ray Eames Signature Pack.” Both Ravensburger and Art of Play, two toy designers, have also teamed up with the Eames Office in the creation of Eames-inspired puzzles and card decks as well. Some of the reproductions and other designs can be purchased at the 80 Years of Design exhibition in Tokyo.
The legacy of Charles & Ray Eames lives on from the days of innovation in furniture to the modern day times of blending iconic furniture with fashion, sports and games.