In 1922, Bernard-Albin GRAS designed a series of lamps for use in offices and industrial settings. The GRAS lamps, as their creator named them, were striking thanks to their simple, dynamic and ergonomic design. In their first form they had no screws or welded joints. A few years later, in 1927, the company Ravel bought the patent and began producing them.
Bernard-Albin Gras was one of the most innovative designers of the 20th century. The functional aesthetic of his lamps and the attention to detail in their construction were, as the saying goes, “well ahead of their time”. It is no coincidence that the pioneering French architect and designer Le Corbusier was captivated by the modern design and ease of use of his lamps and became one of their most enthusiastic supporters, using them in his own offices as well as in his early architectural projects around the world.
Others, such as Robert Mallet-Stevens, Jacques Emile Ruhlmann and Eileen Gray, followed the same trend. Well-known artists such as Sonia Delaunay and Georges Braque also used his lamps in their studios. For the first time, a lamp was equally popular in professional spaces and in homes.
Today, the timelessness of Bernard-Albin Gras’s design has made GRAS lamps collectors’ pieces.
More information: lampegras.fr
Text-Editing: Natasa Lianopoulou
