Eileen Gray

Gray's first commission for interior design came in 1919, a project for which she developed her famous lacquered "block screens." In 1922, she opened her own shop, the Galerie Jean Desert and that same year, exhibited work in Amsterdam where it drew the attention of Dutch architect, Jan Wils. The rational geometric forms of the De Stijl group in Holland impressed Gray deeply and her work began to convey a stronger sense of modernity and unconventional use of materials and forms.

Gray now began to create unique furniture, "suited to our existence, in proportion to our rooms and in accordance with our aspirations and feelings." A brilliant formal play on the concept of asymmetry, Gray's Nonconformist chair displays her sense of irony, while her famous side table – also asymmetrical – displays the rational principles of modernism that increasingly defined her work.

* Items listed on this page are reproductions of the original design. Items are not produced by the actual designer nor are they affiliated with the official manufacturers. Any mention of the designer or original product name is only for comparison purposes. *