80 Years of Eames Design Legacy Celebrated in a Tokyo Exhibition.

Isetan windows with posters of “80 Years of Design Exhibition” in Tokyo. Photo: Suzuki Shimpei.

Isetan windows with posters of “80 Years of Design Exhibition” in Tokyo. Photo: Suzuki Shimpei.

Charles and Ray on a Velocette motorcycle, 1948. The formative years after marrying, moving to Los Angeles, and beginning the work of the Eames Office in 1941 would serve as an intense creative incubator for Charles and Ray. Charles’ rich experiences in architecture, photography, art, filmmaking and his time in Mexico had led to two years teaching design at Cranbrook. Ray’s own artistic practice drew from her years in New York, classes with Martha Graham and, above all, her extended studies and work with painter Hans Hoffmann. This remarkable combination of the two would serve as a fertile foundation for their new creative life together. As their friend, designer Ben Baldwin said, “They had talents in different directions, and yet somehow the same direction.”

Charles and Ray pinned by DCM chair bases on the sidewalk outside of the Eames Office shortly after a Herman Miller advertisement photoshoot, 1947. Photo © Eames Office.

Charles and the Eames Office staff celebrate the Fourth of July with glasses made by Deborah Sussman, 1965. Photo © Eames Office.

Installation of the “Design for Use” exhibition at MoMA, showcasing the Eames moulded plywood output. Photo © Eames Office.

The first of two compound curve plywood sculptures created by the Eameses in 1941-42. Photo © Eames Office.

The second of two moulded plywood sculptures, created in 1942, with a hand to denote scale. Photo © Eames Office.

The Eames Molded Plywood Sculpture, created in 2021 from archival drawings, notes, and a detailed scan of the original sculpture of 1942 by Charles and Ray Eames. Photo: Marc Eggimann.

A series of sketches of sculpture-related forms by Ray Eames. Photo © Eames Office.

A sketch by Ray Eames of the human-to-sculpture ratio for an exhibition in 1943. Photo © Eames Office.

A sketch of the moulded plywood sculpture, including coding for the various layers of plywood veneer, 1942. Photo © Eames Office.

One of the most enduring figures of 20th Century design, and partners in life and work, Charles and Ray Eames’ impact in architecture, furniture and interiors is still felt today, some 80 years after the establishment of The Eames Office in 1941. To celebrate this epic milestone, the Eames Office presents ‘80 Years of Design’, an exhibition at Isetan’s gallery for modern and contemporary design in Tokyo, Japan.

The studio has had a formative partnership with Isetan, the iconic Japanese department store, that dates all the way back to 1961. From their first trip to Japan in the 1950s, to an ongoing exchange of ideas with some of the 20th century’s most well-known Japanese designers both in Japan and in Los Angeles, Charles and Ray drew inspiration throughout their career from the country’s approach to both tradition and modernity. Voracious adventurers, Japan’s impact on their worldview and work has had a profound impact.

Art print by Charles & Ray Eames depicting Charles and Ray inside the home they designed, built and shared together for 29 years — the Eames House in Los Angeles. 

A series of art prints from Charles & Ray Eames, featuring photographs from the Eames house in 1955, as well as a series of abstract artworks based on an oil painting which Ray made for Charles two years after pair married. 

The Eames House living room and its interior collections. Photo: Mitsuya Okumura, 2018.

A one-of-a-kind Eames-designed bookshelf in the living room of the Eames House, filled with the personal collections of Charles and Ray. Photo: Timothy Street-Porter, 1994.

The Eames House residence and studio, featuring the eucalyptus trees and meadow. Photo: Timothy Street-Porter, 1994.

A still from the 1955 Eames film “House: After Five Years of Living”.

The facade of the Eames House’s residence structure. Photo: Joshua White, 2018.

A collection of moulded plywood designs and experiments, photographed in the Eames Office circa 1946. Photo © Eames Office.

A three-dimensional assemblage created by staff member Herbert Matter for the 1946 MoMA exhibition “New Furniture Designed by Charles Eames.” Photo © Eames Office.

A moulding machine, 1945. Photo © Eames Office.

The Molded Plywood Division, headed by Charles and Ray, staff members Norman Bruns, William Francis, Marion Overby, Harry Bertoia, and Gregory Ain posing with an aeroplane glider nose section, 1943. Photo © Eames Office.

Moulding machine creating the plywood leg splints for WWII, 1943. Photo © Eames Office.

Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman upholstered in the Girard Checker Textile in Black/White. Photos courtesy of Herman Miller.

The exhibition will demonstrate how the optimistic philosophies and human-centred design solutions that Charles and Ray introduced are more relevant than ever through unique, rare, and vintage works, the revival of pivotal designs from the archive, and new special editions and collaborations developed with longstanding partners Herman Miller, Vitra, and Ravensburger, and new partners Globe, Reebok, and Art of Play.

“The Eames Office actively seeks to both preserve historical work and create innovative designs and experiences that extend the Eames legacy into the future. We’re thrilled to be able to present iconic works alongside special projects and collaborations that continue to bring Charles and Ray’s powerful ideas to life today,” said Eames Demetrios, Director of the Eames Office.

With a wealth of archival material at their fingertips, the exhibition includes a New Limited Edition of 1943 Moulded Plywood Sculpture, Never Before Seen Architectural Model of 1951 Modular House, and Special Editions with Herman Miller, Vitra, Ravensburger, Globe, and Reebok.

A scale model of the Eames Modular House, created in 2021 from the careful study of archival blueprints and photographs. Photo: Marc Eggimann.

Crafting the Eames Modular House model, 2021. Photo: Marc Eggimann.

A scale model of the Eames Modular House, created in 2021 from the careful study of archival blueprints and photographs. Photo: Marc Eggimann.

The Modular House model, designed for the Kwikset Lock Company in 1951. Photo © Eames Office.

Charles Eames inspecting the Modular House model in 1951. Photo © Eames Office.

Reebok honours the life and creative legacy of Charles and Ray Eames, with a landmark new collaboration — the first ever footwear range officially developed in partnership with and authorized by the Eames Office, run by the third generation of Charles and Ray’s family.

Reebok x Eames collaboration.

The Eames Office teamed up with online emporium and world-renowned playing card experts, Art of Play, on a limited-edition series of designer playing cards released this month.

Eames Office X Globe Eucalyptus Skateboard Deck is a limited run of collectible skateboards crafted from a eucalyptus tree felled for conservation purposes at Eames House in Los Angeles.

Few of their earliest breakthrough artistic experiments in the moulding of plywood would be as important as their iconic 1943 moulded Plywood Sculpture, which embodies the pioneering spirit of Charles and Ray’s personal relationship, multidisciplinary working partnership, and wholly original thinking. Characterised by delicate changes in thickness and graceful 3-dimensional curves—a process they developed—the ground-breaking, innovative techniques created through sculpture would give rise to some of the most important furniture designs of the 20th century.

80 Years of Design runs until 5th January 5 2022, at Isetan The Space in Tokyo. For more information, visit mistore.jp/eames.

Installation view of “80 Years of Design” exhibition at Isetan Space in Tokyo. Photo: Ko Tsuchiya.

Eames House model on show at “80 Years of Design” exhibition at Isetan Space in Tokyo. Photo: Ko Tsuchiya.

“80 Years of Design” Isetan Windows. Photo: Ko Tsuchiya.

[Images courtesy of Eames Office. Photography credits as noted.]