September 30, 2017–February 25, 2018
An Eames Celebration
Charles and Ray Eames are counted among the most important designers of the 20th century. With their furniture, films, books, exhibitions and media installations, they have influenced generations of designers and continue to shape our everyday culture. From September 30, 2017 to February 25, 2018, the Vitra Design Museum will present An Eames Celebration—four parallel exhibitions that offer an unprecedented view of the work created by the legendary designer couple.
Charles & Ray Eames. The Power of Design
Vitra Design Museum, September 30, 2017–February 25, 2018
The major retrospective Charles & Ray Eames. The Power of Design offers a comprehensive overview of the Eameses’ work, ranging from furniture and interiors to exhibitions, films and photographs, while also portraying their everyday work in the Eames Office in Venice, California. The show features a unique selection of original objects, drawings, sculptures, film installations and many other works that are being presented together for the first time. Organised in collaboration with the Barbican Centre, London and The Eames Office.
Ideas and Information. The Eames Films
Fire Station, September 30, 2017–February 25, 2018
Eames furniture designs have attained legendary status, yet many people are unaware that Charles and Ray Eames were also pioneers in the realm of innovative media. They created multimedia installations and exhibitions dealing with technical and scientific topics as well as over 100 short films. While initially using film as a strategic part of their communications in the area of furniture design, the Eameses also explored this medium as an ideal tool for disseminating knowledge. The exhibition shows 60 of these works, including several that are being presented to the public for the first time, in order to give the Eames’ cinematic oeuvre the attention it deserves within the context of their complete works.
Play Parade. An Eames Exhibition for Kids
Vitra Design Museum Gallery, September 9, 2017–February 11, 2018
Charles and Ray Eames regarded play as the basis of all creativity. The exhibition Play Parade. An Eames Exhibition for Kids brings together toys and short films produced by the Eames Office in a spatial installation full of shapes and colours—inviting visitors to observe, discover and participate. The objects on display include architectural structures and films in which toys come to life. Both the young and young-at-heart are invited to immerse themselves in an Eames-inspired world, where toys are the preludes to great ideas and the motto of Charles Eames can be experienced first-hand: “Take your pleasure seriously!”
Kazam! The Furniture Experiments of Charles & Ray Eames
Vitra Schaudepot, September 30, 2017–February 25, 2018
Today many furnishings created by Charles and Ray Eames are revered as design icons, such as the Eames Plastic Chairs, the Aluminium Chair or the legendary Lounge Chair. All of these pieces were based on a design process that combined intensive research with playful experimentation. In 1988, a large part of the collection of the Eames Office entered the holdings of the Vitra Design Museum, including all of their prototypes, experimental pieces and study. The exhibition Kazam! is the first presentation of this collection, providing a fascinating insight into the development of some of the most important furniture designs of the 20th century.
Media contact: Iris Mickein / communications [at] design-museum.de / T +49 7621 702 3153
Press material: www.design-museum.de/press_images
