Ray and Charles Eames’ Furniture to be Focus of New Exhibition

In the legions of design power couples, Ray and Charles Eames were as accomplished as they come.

As a sign of their lasting influence on several disciplines of design and their potential to inspire more generations of practitioners, the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity will unveil “Past as Prologue: The Last Decade of Furniture Design by Ray and Charles Eames (1968-1978)” in San Francisco later this week. The exhibition will zero in on the husband-and-wife team’s final decade of their collaboration. Furniture, graphic design, fabric design, films, architecture and exhibition design were their skills accelerated.

In 1946, Ray and Charles Eames were among the winners in a fabric design competition that was organized by the Museum of Modern Art and some department stores that culminated with a group exhibition the following year. After marrying in 1941, the couple joined forces on a multitude of projects until Charles Eames’ death in 1978. Before Ray Eames died 10 years later, she planned for some legacy building and her family has carried that out.

Debuting during San Francisco Design Week, the exhibition will be housed in the William Pereira-designed Transamerica Pyramid that has been revitalized by SHVO and Foster + Partners. This will be the Eames Institute’s first public installation beyond the Eames Archives and it is part of a broader collaboration with SHVO and the Transamerica Pyramid to magnify the Bay Area’s design power through a weeklong program of events.

Known to work well beyond what most would consider normal workday hours, the Eames were said to have worked six or seven days a week finessing their techniques and refining their design process to meet current and emerging needs. “Past a Prologue” will draw attention to new furniture that the duo created in their last decade of teamwork, as well as some pieces that have seldom been shown publicly. Those who won’t be traveling to San Francisco this year have the option of one of the Eames Institute’s online showcases. “Past as Prologue” is slated to be on view through early January.

From 1968 to 1978, the Eames preferred to refine earlier iconic furniture pieces with new materials and more-of-the-moment concerns like how ergonomics could be put to use to help sedentary office workers. The Institute’s chief curator, Llisa Demetrios, who is Ray and Charles Eames’ granddaughter said, “As an often-overlooked era of my grandparents’ designs, it felt imperative to uncover some ephemera that isn’t always highlighted….”

Visitors will be able to pick up some memorabilia, thanks to The Eames Institute partnering on two retail spaces in the Transamerica Pyramid. There will be new and vintage merchandise, including furniture, books and home items in the lobby outpost. There will also be a gift shop in the gallery space with exhibition catalogues, current books on the Eames legacy and gift items.

With thousands of artifacts, The Eames Collection showcases the pair’s creations, methodologies and far-ranging interests. The namesake institute aims to introduce more people to the Eameses’ outlook and to inspire others to use creative problem solving to shape the world in a positive light. Somehow they made it look easier than it was, as Charles Eames liked to say, “the blood never shows.”