AlovetriangleofjealousyintheParisianartsceneofthe1930sisbroughttolifeinastylishdocufictionabouticonicartistandarchitectEileenGray,whobuilthermodernistdreamhouseontheRiviera,onlytobeupstagedbyLeCorbusier.
EileenGrayhadatrulyeminentsenseofdesign.TheIrishartistandarchitectcreatedsomeofthemosticonicfurnitureofthe20thcentury,sowhenshefocussedheruniqueartisticvisionondevelopingahouseforherselfontheRivierain1929,theresultwasamodernisttriumph.Ahouseandaworkofartinone,overlookingthesun-sparkledinfinityoftheMediterranean.ThehouseisnamedE.1027,acrypticcontractionofthenamesofGrayandherlover,RomanianarchitectJeanBadovici.ButwhentheSwiss-FrenchstararchitectLeCorbusierlearnsofthehouse,hebecomesobsessed–perhapsbecauseGraybreatheslight,airandsoulintoherbuilding,whichisnotjustamachinetolivein.‘E.1027–EileenGrayandtheHousebytheSea’reconstructsthedramaticstoryofGrayandthehousethatLeCorbusieramazinglymanagedtoconvincetheworldhehadbuilthimself.AstunninglybeautifulandcinematicdocufictionwheretheinspirationfromGrayispresentinlines,coloursandshapes–butwheretheyservethenarrativeofabrilliantfemaleartistwhospentalonglifeintheshadowofhermalecolleagues.
