A touring exhibition and a recently released full-length documentary are shedding new light on the polymathic world of the U.S. couple Charles and Ray Eames, two of the most prolific and influential creatives of the 20th century.

"Essential Eames" at the Living Design Center Ozone in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, captures the multi-faceted careers of the Eames; from their truly legendary furniture designs (the Eames chair is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York) to their involvement in film, architecture and other artistic arenas. And featured at the exhibition is Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey's documentary: "Eames: The Architect and The Painter", which, narrated by leading American actor James Franco, delves into the professional and private lives of the couple who stayed together and helped shape the aesthetics of the century despite World War II, and artistic and personal difficulties.

Charles Eames once said: "Eventually everything connects — people, ideas, objects." This is more than evident in the exhibition and documentary, which both reveal the pair's staggering body of work that continues to connect and bind us today. Their grandson, Eames Demetrios, director of the Eames Office and filmmaker, author, consultant and polymath, visited Tokyo earlier this month to introduce the exhibition to a Japanese audience. The Japan Times sat down with him to hear his thoughts on the exhibition, his books about Charles and Ray, and his family's astonishing legacy.