Karalyte.com

A Fair Day for Eileen Gray

karalyte — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:02:21 +0000

In February last year, Eileen Gray’s Fauteuil aux Dragons became the second highest selling piece of decorative art ever sold at auction at the “sale of the century” - the Yves Saint Laurent-Pierre Bergé collection at Christie’s. Estimated between 2 and 3 millions, it sold for 22 million euros to Parisian Gallery owner, Cheska Vallois for an unnamed client (erroneously reported as Henry Kravis). A table by Gray, Enfilade, also part of the collection, fetched a pretty penny as well. Gray is in the spotlight these days for continuing prowess in the auction house world and because of the renovation of her villa E-1027 at Rocquebrune.

It is interesting to see how history has bestowed a position of esteem on this stubborn rebel of the design world. She was a woman of her time – a fascinating and troubled time of the first decades of the 20th century when anything seemed possible and change in everything seemed necessary – and yet she was apart. A woman in furniture design and architecture, an Irishwoman in France, an aristocrate in a bohemian setting – one has to believe she enjoyed setting herself apart. She was shy - and yet she intrepidly followed her own beliefs and interpreted her epoch as only she could. Her work is based on symbolic conceptions and ideals that went beyond form and surface and which gave fire to her exceptional design talent.

The Dragon Chair is an example of her interest in Oriental philosophy. Christie’s lot description states,”the dragon has a history in Chinese iconography as a symbol of strength and goodness, with the power to protect and to guard. The dragon is often illustrated toying with a pearl (zhu) which in turn is a symbol of strength associated with the moon and with thunder…. The entire sculptural form of the present armchair could be interpreted as representing a pearl within its shell, encircled by the dragons” - which must also contain the idea of the sitter as pearl.

Eileen Gray came to settle in Paris in 1902 as a young Irish woman of 24 after attending the Slade School of Art in London as one of its first female students. She was from a somewhat forward-looking family of title and means with somewhat artistic propensities – her father was an amateur painter. She continued to study drawing in Paris at the Académies Colarosi and Julian, then made a turn toward the decorative arts by furthering her knowledge of lacquer techniques, her medium of choice during the first part of her career. What could be more suitable to her reserved, thoughtful personality than this ancient and painstaking method that requires a perfectly smooth surface as a base, then layer upon layer of resine to achieve an exquisitely profound finish? Seizo Sougawara initiated Gray to this craft in 1907 making her the first of her generation to use lacquer techniques for modern expression, rather than restoration of traditional chinoiserie decors. Gray worked with Sougawara for four years before leaving him to his next student, Jean Dunand ! (gazette-drouot). If Grey was reserved, she didn’t let it stop her from doing the things she wanted to do. She was interested in new possibilities of her age and piloted planes, drove fast cars, manned an ambulance during the beginning of WWI, but most importantly, she had the guts to march to her own beat as a designer.

Symbolism was important in the refined and luxurious early work. How appropriate that this picture in her tender youth shows her face elegantly framed by peacock feathers. With its numerous connotations, the very deorative peacock is symbol of immortality and ressurrection; its flesh was said never to decay, its eye-patterned feathers were supposed all-seeing and protective. Was it Eileen Gray’s discretion – then reclusive character that made it possible to forget her for a long period during her own lifetime? Or the fact than her limited production stayed in the hands of the few? She was known and recognized as an innovator until the late 1930s, then forgotten for most of the second half of her long life. In the years just prior to her death in 1976, her work came out of hiding thanks to exhibits and sales which signaled the revival of interest in ”art deco” years.

The lacquer and mother-of-pearl panel Magicien de la Nuit or Om Mani Padme Hum was displayed at the 1913 Salon des Artists Décorateurs. It was here that Jacques Doucet, one of the foremost couturiers of the era and enlightened collector/bibliophile first saw Gray’s work. The title makes reference to one of the most famous mantras in Buddhism. Tibetian monks believe that saying it out loud or silently to oneself invokes the powerful benevolent attention and blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion (Dharma-haven). Doucet’s knowledge of ancient Chinese art must have made him even more receptive to this work. He sought immediately to meet Gray; commissions and important introductions followed.

A duel-faced screen, Le Destin, is dated 1914 and was acquired by Doucet in that year. In 1912 he had sold off his 18th century antique furnishings in an historic auction and embarked on a creative collecting adventure with contemporary artists and designers. (Parallels with Karl Lagerfeld in 2000 are tempting, but we don’t see as many views of Lagerfeld interiors since this date; he’s gone minimal.) Doucet is even credited with funding the Surrealist movement, since he hired Louis Aragon and André Breton to advise him in building his art collection and his library. Pierre Legrain and Paul Ruaud were charged with decorating to harmonize with his new collections expressing his tastes for the avant-garde, mixing tribal and ancient oriental art.

Swirling geometry of Le Destin.

Doucet was one of Gray’s first and most important patrons. It was through his own sale-of-the-century, the 1972 auction of his collections by Hôtel Drouot, that Eileen Gray was rediscovered.

Yves Saint Laurent entered the competition for the screen which broke sales records at the time. My sources cannot confirm that he was successful in acquiring it.

salon Doucet as shown in L’Illustration 1930

He counted La Charmeuse de serpent by Douanier Rousseau and Les Demoiselles d’Avignon de Picasso among his exceptional collection of paintings.

Pictured here is Gray’s table Bilboquet next to a Marcel Coard canapé.

The Bilboquet table – it’s name refers to the game of cup and ball.

Doucet’s Cabinet d’Orient

Doucet had particular interest in ancient Chinese art and undoubtedly appreciated Gray’s use of oriental symbols and iconography. The central piece is Gray’s tasselled Lotus Table. The screen, Le Destin was also placed in this room.

Lotus table

The lotus is a recurrent theme with Gray and Doucet. The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies pristinely above the water, basking in the sunlight. This growth pattern indicates the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment. (religionfacts)

Her most ambitious decoration project to date came in 1919 from Mme Mathieu Lévy, owner of a celebrated millinery salon, Suzanne Talbot.She is photographed here by Baron de Meyer in her new surroundings. Gray had free run in her rue de Lota apartment and the result was spectacularly glamorous and architectural.

The Dragon Armchair comes from this interior.

A clearer view of the dug-out canoe shaped daybed raised on twelve arched feet

and finished in textured brown lacquer and silver leaf.

One of the most interesting inventions for the over-long hall of the apartment was the use of textured lacquer blocks set against the walls like bricks. Halfway down the room, the blocks folded out perpendicular to the wall and broke up the otherwise awkward space.

This idea gave birth to free standing block screens which Gray was to use elsewhere. Hector Guimard of art nouveau fame is said to have had one of these screens. The road to architecture is not far off.

Eileen Gray was later to reject theses highly luxurious creations as she moved toward functional, socially-aware designs and even shuddered at the tassels on the Lotus table. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it. Though her objectives changed, she was always a highly thoughtful and sensuous designer.

The Irishwoman who lived all her adult life in France and died as she wished, alone in her rue Bonaparte apartment, was buried in the famous cimetière Père-Lachaise. A telephone call to the cemetery has informed me that her plot was not renewed in 1998. Ca n’existe plus!

With no offspring and a solitary life I guess it was to be expected, but I don’t think she’d mind.

***

What music was Eileen Gray listening to in these years? Probably to her close friend Damia while wearing a Poirot gown.

For more on Eileen Gray:

Photos: Christie’s, Apollo, L’Illustration

Jill Thomas Photography

Egle — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:29:20 +0000

Blending the rustic and the modern, the vintage and the natural, Jill has a style of her own — slightly southern American, slightly Californian with a bit of country French and splashes of Spanish… Check out some of her work below and at http://jillsphotoblog.com/

While you browse through the photos, I suggest listening to the song-video below. It creates a good ambiance for her style and work…

Vytautas Laisonas

Egle — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:34:34 +0000

Vytautas Laisonas, a Lithuanian painter, lives and works in Biržai, a city in northern Lithuania. His artwork is already beautifying the homes and collections in Japan, USA, Germany, Italy, France, Hungary, etc…

Vytautas kindly took the time to share his thoughts, ideas, and artwork with me. I am very happy to share them with you.

Enjoy!

Tell me a little bit about your first encounters with art. Why did you choose painting as your form of expression?

I have been interested in art since early childhood – from around ten or twelve years old. At the beginning I was drawn to the graphics. Later on, around the age of nineteen, I found the painting. For the first trials I used the acrylic paint and then I switched to oil. I am still faithful to it because it allows me to express myself in the best way.

Do you have a creative vision/mission/theme that functions like a „north star“ or „centre of gravity“ in your work?

My mission is very simple. There is a saying that suits me (and perhaps to all other people who create) „if you don‘t need to sing, dance or write, don‘t do it.“ Personally, I need to paint – I can‘t live without it. I don‘t have a central theme that repeats throughout my work. I am interested in a lot of things: romantic relationships, music (mostly performed with wind-instruments), and the utopian cities.

Your work reminds me the elegance and warmth of Modigliani or Gustav Klimt, the collage-style of Marc Chagall, and Aušra Čapskytė‘s playfulness and color palettes. Do you like these artists? Which ones are inspirational for you?

I am fascinated by many authors – the full list would be really long. Yes, Gustav Klimt is on the list. From the Lithuanian artists, I like Algis Griškevičius and Arūnas Žilys.

Your series „The Other Cities“ transfers a traditional city into the different worlds and challenges us on the true meaning of the city. Your cities are „seeded“ and „live“ on the ship, around the tree, above the clouds or at the footer of an apple. Perhaps you like to imagine the world „upside down“ :} How do you see these worlds, what are you looking for within them and what are you trying to tell us through them?

I like to play with the cities. Sometimes I personify them, sometimes I transform them into a city-kingdom, sometimes I show an utopian city, sometimes I simply test how far I can change the shape, the size and the location without loosing the concept of a city and its true meaning.

I like to „plant“ the cities around various locations as if the cities were the colourful mosses. Or I suddenly „throw in“ an alien into the city, e.g. the giant apple, and I observe how the city handles this. The other day I received a funny comment about my painting „The Apple“ (to the right):
„I wonder what they (the city dwellers) will do once the apple starts rotting..“.

I enjoy when people embark on this game together with me and allow themselves to dream.

Through my cities I ask people to take a different look into our global world and its greatness which sometimes is very fragile.

There are quite a lot of elfs in your work. What is their symbolic meaning to you and why have you chosen them?

I want to develop my own personage and thus I‘ve started with the small people.

In what type of environment do you enjoy to work? Does the environment influence you?

I have a very cosy atelier with the firewood driven heater. I always listen to music when I paint and sometimes it really inspires me.

When is the best and the most difficult time for you to paint?

It is the most difficult when I can‘t realize my creative ideas to the fullest. But these are also the happy moments, because one learns, improves and moves forward with every new artwork.

How and where do you search for inspiration? In the work of other artists, nature, within yourself, books..?

It is always a spontaneous thing. I can never predict the time or location of when the inspiration will catch me. Sometimes when painting a scene, I get an urge to create ten more variations of it. I only feel how various things effect me. I believe I am influenced and inspired by the artwork of my Lithuanian colleagues and the foreign artists, movies, daily situations, a very familiar but also a pleasantly surprising nature of Biržai, and a calm city life.

What type of literature and music do you enjoy?

I like various music and I can’t say that I am devoted to one particular style. I enjoy the original classical music of Vienna, the modern interpretations of the classical music, music with the jazz elements, quality pop, rock bands who are not afraid to experiment. At the moment I could highlight the Icelandic work and my two favourite bands „múm“ and „Sigur Rós“. Concerning the literature, I read the visual arts related one.

What are your ideas, themes or plans for the future work?

It would be extremely difficult to define what I will paint in a year, a half, or a decade. Every day near the canvas is a different one because of my different thoughts, mood or spiritual state. I can‘t foresee my feelings. I am driven by a constant search. I am not bouncing but rather changing little by little.

Explore Further

Peter Lindbergh

Egle — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:31:26 +0000

“C reativity is the basis of self-expression. Why are some people supposedly more creative than others, and why can’t others open themselves up enough to be able to express who they are?

Creation is the birth of something, and something cannot come from nothing. When someone creates something: a painting, a poem, a photograph, the creativity comes from an idea, from a feeling, from emotion, or from a combination of ideas, feelings and emotions that are somehow ‘reborn’ from all our experiences and perspectives.”

“Creativity is the desire to express ourselves. To formulate these expressions, we have to draw from our reservoir of experience, dreams, desires and experimentation and mix together what was, what is, and what could be…. I don’t think you can learn it, it is rather something that evolves. Your perception of everything in your life fills up this reservoir.”

“Some people are drawn to create and express themselves, others are drawn to reflect, to analyze. But in the end, they all could be creative if they had the desire to explore the way in which they are integrated in the world of their experiences. Because creativity is really a rebirth, a true tone we feel for ourselves and for our world. Then our work becomes a real part of who we are. Maybe all this is a question of how deep we are willing to go… “

by Peter Lindbergh

with Lily, New York, June 1996

Explore Further

Morning Inspirations

Egle — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:06:48 +0000

Here are some images that I found somewhere on the internet..

They reflect such lightness and freedom within themselves, that you get the internal feeling to fly away. The visual poetry..

Their aesthetic sensibility, mood, tone, and the spirit very much remind me of the following classical movies:

Frantisek Vlacil’s “The White Dove” (Czech)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0175743/

Mikhail Kalatozov’s “The Cranes Are Flying” (Russian)
http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=146&eid=218Â§ion=essay

François Truffaut’s “The 400 blows” (French)
http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=5&eid=286Â§ion=essay

merci

Egle — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:44:47 +0000

Merci has a new unique concept within the parisian stores landscape. It was created with the cause to aid child protecting organizations beginning with those focused in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries on earth. All profits from this store go to a children’s charity in Madagascar.

In this area of 1500 m2, imagined by Marie-France and Bernard Cohen, founders of Bonpoint, the layout is more reminiscent of a house than a department store. You can find there an ensemble of multiple flavours – a used-books café in the library setting, clothes store featuring the clothes of famous designers who have donated them for the cause, deco products, perfume store, flower shop, and the garden…

French, bohemian, “grundzy,” scoutish, organic, and country-side inspired boutique invites you into the universe of the authentically luxurious camper.

Address:

11 boulevard Beaumarchais
75003 Paris
Metro: Saint Sébastien-Froissart ( ligne 8 )
View Map>>

Visit Website >>

The Merci's garden. On the opposite side one can see a café-library.

On the right you can see the designer's Saint Laurent's clothes donated by the designer for the cause. In the far right - a small Goutal "laboratory" orchestrated by Isabelle Doyen (with fragant juice based on natural essences) sold in simple flacons at -40% discount off their regular prices.

A cafe within the used books biblioteque. The cafe serves home-baked bread, marmelades, and a little snack for noon.

Entrance to the clothes boutique

Elements within the deco boutique downstairs.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Icicle

Egle — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:41:00 +0000

1. Round Panelled Cup. British artist Clare Gage.
2. Single-track. Stoneware 2008. 95 x 65 x 78 cm. British artist Eva Hild.
3. Duo. Crystal clear glass. LxWxH 28.5 x 24 x 8.5 cm. French glass artist Celine Tilliet.
4. Icework Winter – Ephemeral Art. Canadian visual artist Nicole Dextras.
5. Glass Sculpture by Elena Fleury-Rojo. Hand blown glass.
6. Kube Hotel in Paris, France.
7. Slush Cast Bowl pewter. British designer and maker Ian McIntyre.
8. Flora. Lithuanian painter Migle Kosinskaite.

Le Cotte Roti

Egle — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:41:56 +0000

French cuisine with a splash of modern flavours. Very small restaurant, elegant and artistic environment, warm and friendly staff.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Assaporare

Egle — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:24:51 +0000

A small Italian gourmet restaurant. Owned by a very friendly family who took a great deal of time to explain the food and wines with great detail. Very caring and cosy atmosphere. Food was delicious!

Address: 7 rue St. Nicolas 75012 Paris

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The Colors of Autumn

Egle — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:39:17 +0000

1. The train between the islands 2008, 100×160 cm, oil, canvas. Lithuanian artist Vytautas Laisonas.
2. Fragment. Copper, 24 ct gold, 12 ct white gold. Length 57cm. British ceramist Claire Malet.
3. n/a
4. Extra Large sunburst lamp and Large stormy lamp. XL 54×20cm | L 48×16cm | S 30×16cm. British ceramist Liz Emtage.
5. Earrings. 18 carat white gold earrings with 22ct gold overlay. British ceramist Will Evans.
6. Sculpture. Bronze (27 x 13 x 15). French ceramist Hélène Saïnz.
7. Increase 2005. 2 Face Series 24cm H. British ceramist Matthew Chambers.
8. Wallboard. 55 cm x 35 cm. French sculptor and painter Jean-Jacques Dalmais.
9. Italian restaurant’s Assaporare business card.
10. Central picture – Paris, France – (c) Karalyte.com