GRAND RAPIDS.- The Grand Rapids Art Museum presents the exhibit The Eames Lounge Chair: An Icon of Modern Design through December 31. The Eames Lounge Chair became an icon of 20th century design almost immediately after its conception in 1955 and introduction to the public in 1956. The epitome of both modernist style and luxurious comfort, the leather-upholstered, rosewood-veneered chair and matching ottoman represent the culmination of Charles and Ray Eames' experimentation in molded plywood. Their seat furniture marked a radical breakthrough in chair design and would lead to many other designs by both architects.

The exhibition, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the chair, includes selections of molded wood prototypes produced by the Eameses in the 1940s along with molded plywood sculpture by Ray Eames from the Library of Congress complement the three-dimensional studies. Selections of graphic designs by the Eames office and early advertising are included to indicate how the chair was presented to the public. An "exploded" version of the chair and blowups of period photographs dramatize how it was manufactured and assembled. This exhibition is organized by the Grand Rapids Art Museum.