if one can say le corbusier is one of the fathers of modernity, then one can say eileen gray is one of the mothers of modernity. —cloé pitiot, curator

Eileen Gray’s Bibendum chair in interior. A black chair on a white square rug

architecture and e-1027

Influenced by Badovici, Gray began to study avant-garde art and architecture with the support of Polish architect Adrienne Górska. Her style of furniture design evolved towards clean lines, metal, and glass. In 1926 Gray began work on a villa on the Mediterranean called E-1027.

The name is an acronym for the initials of Eileen and Jean Badovici: E for Eileen, 10 and 2 representing initials J and B, and 7 for G—her surname, Gray. It’s said that the name of the villa represents the embrace Gray gives to Badovici, and thus she turned away from the cold, machine-like attitude more typical of the avant-garde. It is also rumored that E-1027 is a subtle architectural pun against Le Corbusier.

her [eileen gray’s] work is very interesting and very important but seems to somehow slip the consciousness of everybody. —zeev aram, london design retailer and gallerist

Eileen Gray’s petite coiffeuse
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