Llisa Demetrios
What can we learn from Ray & Charles Eames that might apply to the challenges we face today?
15—01—2025
7.30pm
Auditori Disseny Hub Barcelona
Crossroad C/ Irena Sendler with C/ Àvila
Watch the Instagram Reel of the talk
Listen to the Llisa Demetrios podcast interview
Read the podcast's transcription
The Eames lounge chair, the DCR chair, the Eames House, The Powers of Ten… Ray and Charles Eames have defined American mid-century modern design like no other. For over 40 years, the celebrated wife and husband duo ran a mythic design office that produced furniture, textiles, films, exhibitions and for clients like Herman Miller, Vitra, IBM, and many others.
Beginning their practice during the post-World War II era, the Eameses had a long view on the purpose of their work. “Don’t give us ‘good design’ crap, Charles once said. “The real questions are: Does it solve a problem? Is it serviceable? How is it going to look in ten years?”
Though their furniture have become totems of elite offices and homes today, the Eameses had always been set on improving quality of life for the most number of people. Their motto: “the best for the most for the least.”
Llisa Demetrios, the Eameses’ youngest granddaughter and the chief curator of the Eames Institute for Infinite Curiosity comes to Barcelona to speak about what her grandparents can impart to today’s generation of designers and creatives. This installation of Elisava Masters’ Talks is for all lovers of design, history, and creativity—a very special event not to be missed.
Llisa Demetrios began her archiving career at the Mies van der Rohe Archive at MoMA in New York, and has since dedicated herself to extending her grandparents' most important gifts to the world: their infinite curiosity and iterative design process. Her personal mission is to equip everyone with lessons of Ray and Chales so that anyone can use design to solve problems at all scales. Today, as chief curator at the Eames Institute, Llisa continues to share learnings from her legacy through exhibitions, events, and public tours at the new public space in Richmond, California.