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The extensive and diverse oeuvre of Charles (1907 – 1978) and Ray Eames (1912 – 1988)
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.
The exhibition shows the highlights of the designers’ cooperation with Vitra in an exhibition order of seven work and material
groups.
1.Eames Lounge Chair (1956)
THE Eames classic: the aim was to satisfy the desire for an amply proportioned, luxurious chair resembling an old English club
chair. With the Lounge Chair the Eamses set new standards: it is not only lighter and more elegant than the conventionally ponderous
club chair, it is also more comfortable. The construction consists of a five-star aluminum base to bear the swivel seat
construction; three seperately moulded plywood shells for the seat and the two-piece backrest.
From 1956 onwards the Lounge Chair is produced nonstop.
2. Plywood Chair Gruppe (from 1945)
As early as 1940, Charles Eames experimented with the idea of producing a seat shell that would follow the curves of the human body
out of three-dimensionally moulded plywood. The first Their first successful pieces were leg splints used to stabilise injured
soldiers during transport, which were ordered in large numbers by the US Navy. After the war they created pioneering designs for
chairs, tables,, children’s furniture and partition screens, some of which were made exclusively out of wood laminates, others of
which combined plywood with tubular steels.
Today’s methods for moulding plywood into three-dimensional shapes are still largely the same as those developed by the Eameses.
3. The Aluminum Chair (1958)
As a manufacturing material, aluminum played a marginal role in the furniture sector until the 1950s.The Eameses’ keen interest in
this relatively „young“ metal was based on ist specific characters: high tensile strength, light weight, malleability, corrosion
resistance and industrial aptitude.
The Aluminum Group represents the Eameses’ first departure from the principle of the seat shell, which formed the basis of their
previoius chair designs. With the Aluminum Chair , they instead pursued the principle of tension, assigning a load-bearing function
to the sling upholstery. Stretched tautly between the metal slides, it offers a high degree of comfort by adapting to the individual
shape of the sitter.
4. Wire (Wire Chair (1951)
Again this is a material that had played a negligible role in the furniture industry until the Eameses’ came along. From a formal
standpoint, the Wire Chair is a „translation“ of the plastic side shell in the material of resistance-welded wire mesh. With minimal
material requirements a chair was created that is a striking synthesis of strentgh and transparancy. To complement the
biomorphically shaped shell they designed a light, removable cushion which emphasises the graphic qualities of the wire shell: the
juxtaposition of an orthogonal mesh grid with the flowing curves of an organic silhouette.
5. Plastic (Plastic Chair (1950)
For years the Eameses devoted themselves to the concept behind these chairs, namely, the development of a seat shell whose shape
would fit the human body. After experiments with plywood and stamped metal yielded unsatisfying results, an alternative material
caught their attention: fibreglassreinforced polyester resin: the first mass-produced plastic chairs in the history of furniture. In
1993, Vitra discontinued production of the fibreglass shells for ecological reasons. The company resumed manufacture of the shells
in 1999 and 2004, respectively, making them newly available in the environmentally friendly material of polypropylene.
6. La Chaise (1948)/ Stools (1960)
Although its design dates back to a 1948 Museum of Modern Art furniture competition, La Chaise has been exclusively produced by
Vitra only since 1991. The name is a playful reference to the sculptor Gaston Lachaise, whose ”Floating Figure” was a source of
inspiration for this piece. Like a free-standing sculpture, the moulded plastic shell is mounted on five chrome-plated steel rods
which emerge from a stable oak base with cruciform feet.
In their double function as a seating object or small side table, the wooden stools elicit multiple visual associations — for
example, with an African stool or a turned chess piece. Designed by Ray Eames in 1960 for the lobbies in the Time-Life Building in
New York City, the Eames Walnut Stool is produced in three different shapes.
7. Lobby Chair (1960)
With this design, the Eameses fulfilled the request for an exceptionally comfortable piece of seating furniture that would be
smaller than the Lounge Chair, and could also double as a conference chair. Three thickly padded cushions—one for the seat and two
for the backrest—are joined by side frame members made of cast aluminium with integrated armrest mounts. Two versions of the chair
were adapted for mass production: a lower, wider lounge model, and a conference or office version with a higher seat and
backrest.
Eames Tandem Seating, which was specifically designed for waiting areas in large public paces like airports, is distinguished by the
functional advantages of modular construction and exceptional durability. The robust cast aluminium side members, with integrated
armrests, are mounted on a steel T-beam to create row units with several interconnected seats.
EAMES BY VITRA – The furniture of Charles and Ray Eames
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| Duration of the Exhibition |
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September 29 through October 25 2008 |
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| Opening Times |
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Mon, Tue, Wed and Fri
8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thu 8 a.m. to 5.30 p.m
Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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| Information |
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www.ottowagner.com/museum
T +43 1 534 53 DW 33825
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| Entrance |
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Main Banking Hall:
Free Entrance to the Special Exhibition!
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| Museum WAGNER:WERK |
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Entrance Fee: Euro 5.00
Euro 3,50 reduced fee for
students, senior citizens and groups
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| Free entrance |
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Bank customers of BAWAG P.S.K. on exhibit of customer card
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| Artistic director |
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Monika Wenzl-Bachmayer
WAGNER:WERK
Museum Postsparkasse
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| Catalogue |
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Die Möbel von Charles und Ray Eames
Hrsg. Vitra, Weil am Rhein (D)
ISBN 978-3-931936-75-4
€ 19,00
Available at the Museumsshop
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| WAGNER:WERK - MUSEUM POSTSPARKASSE - Georg Coch-Platz 2, 1018 Vienna |
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