Screen

Born in Ireland, but based in Paris throughout her career, Eileen Gray was one of the leading members of the modern design movement. In addition to her prolific output as a designer, which included furniture, lacquer work, rugs, lighting, interiors and buildings, she was also one of the first women gallerists. Her Galerie Jean Désert offered a crucial showcase for her work and became highly influential for presenting Modernist and Art Deco design. This screen represents a profound artistic shift in Gray’s career when she turned more towards architectural projects. Departing from previous lacquered screens with figurative and allegorical content, it reflects increasing abstraction in her design work during the 1920s. The linear, geometric motifs comprising the surface decoration indicate the influence of avant-garde artists such as Piet Mondrian, Constructivist designers and architects, and designers of the De Stijl movement, particularly Gerrit Rietveld. This screen’s Modernist character is amplified through Gray’s mastery and understanding of lacquer, which she developed from many years of research and practice. She was one of the few European artists of her generation to successfully master Japanese lacquer techniques and to grasp it with such artistic virtuosity.