Modern Sculptures
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Wire, Stainless Steel, Bronze, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Wire, Stainless Steel, Bronze, Brass
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Acrylic
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Brass, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Wire
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Brass, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Wire
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Brass, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Wire
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Brass, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Wire
1930s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Brass, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Wire
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Wire
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Composition
1930s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
1950s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plastic, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Chinese Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Metal
20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Late 20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Granite
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Plastic, Plaster
1930s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
2010s Belgian Modern Sculptures
Agate, Brass
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Wood, Hardwood, Walnut
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Hardwood, Mahogany, Maple, Oak
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Precious Stone
19th Century Italian Antique Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary South American Modern Sculptures
Quartz, Rock Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Oak, Walnut, Maple, Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1990s French Modern Sculptures
Marble
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Teak