Benefit event will launch development of an exhibit for the 100th birthday of design icon & Sacramento native Ray Eames through a new partnership with Eames Office

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – Feb. 29, 2012: The California Museum announced a special screening of the documentary “Eames: The Architect and The Painter” followed by a Q&A presentation with director Jason Cohn and Llisa Demetrios of Eames Office moderated by Director of the California Arts Council Craig Watson at Th e Crest Theatre on March 6th from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m. today. Benefiting the development of an all-new exhibit focused on the early life of Sacramento native Ray Eames, the screening will also launch a new partnership with Eames Office to preserve and extend Ray’s legacy as the largely overlooked half of the iconic California design duo.

“Ray would have turned 100 this year, so I’m really excited to see a spotlight on her — especially in her hometown,” said Jason Cohn, director of “Eames: The Architect and The Painter.” “We were really eager to have a screening somewhere in Sacramento, but to show the film in at the theater her father managed – The Crest – and to use the proceeds from the event to bring a new Eames exhibit to The California Museum makes it a really special evening.”

Widely regarded as America’s most significant designers, the husband-and-wife design duo Charles and Ray Eames created an extraordinary body of work, beginning with molded plywood splints for the U.S. military during WWII. Although best known for their mid-century modern furniture, their Los Angeles studio Eames Office produced a multitude of projects over four decades, including buildings, films, textiles, exhibitions, toys,  photography, corporate visual design and more until its closure in 1988.

While their professional work has been widely documented, “Eames: The Architect and The Painter” is the first exploration of the visionary designers’ personal lives and complex relationship as business and romantic partners. Through interviews with family and former associates, the film reveals the Eames’ prolific contributions, resulting in unparalleled influence on nearly every facet of American life and culture.

The March 6th screening will also launch a campaign to develop a new exhibit which will celebrate Ray Eames’ 100th birthday on December 15th through a new partnership with Eames Office. The partnership will seek to provide new information on her ties to Sacramento and life before Charles, the exhibit will emphasize Ray’s often overlooked but critical achievements as an innovative female artist and her role as an equal part of the Eames history.

“We are thrilled to expand upon our work highlighting Ray Eames in the ‘California’s Remarkable Women’ exhibit,” said Executive Director of The California Museum Dori Dennis Moorehead, “as well as the opportunity to preserve and further her legacy in partnership with Eames Office archives. Commonly mistaken for either Charles’ brother or the good wife assistant, the exhibit will educate visitors on her ground-breaking role as a female artist who and as an equal half of the creative force behind Eames Office. As a pioneering woman who broke barriers across multiple fields during eras of limited opportunities for women, we also hope to establish Ray as a not just a remarkable Californian but a Sacramento native who is a source of tremendous state and city pride.”

Born on December 15, 1912 at Sutter Memorial Hospital, Bernice Alexandra Kaiser was a Sacramento native and nicknamed “Ray-Ray” by her family as a child. Aside from school records and a list of addresses in the Curtis Park neighborhood, much of Ray’s formative years in California’s capitol remains unknown. After graduating from Sacramento High School in 1931, she moved to New York City to study fine art under the German Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann. While pursuing supplemental training at the Art Academy in Cranbrook, Michigan, Ray met Charles, who was initially her teacher and mentor. In 1941, they were married in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles to pursue the California dream.

“We’ve wanted to help bring an Eames exhibit to Sacramento for years,” said Co-Editor-In-Chief Rob Turner of Sactown magazine. “With the 100-year anniversary of Ray Eames’ birth coming up this December, we knew that 2012 would be the perfect time and that The California Museum would be the perfect place to celebrate this milestone.”

General admission tickets are $15.00 and on sale through The Crest Theatre Box Office located at 1013 K Street or online through Tickets.com. Partners for the March 6th benefit screening include Eames Office, First Run Features, Hot Italian, Lumens Light + Living, Sactown magazine, Sacramento Modern, Th e Bridge District and Th e Crest Theatre. For more information about the event, please visit CaliforniaMuseum.org

For more information on Eames Office, please visit EamesOffice.com.

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