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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s European Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plywood
2010s British Modern Sculptures
Glass, Beech, Birch
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Korean Modern Sculptures
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Plexiglass
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Sculptures
Lucite
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Sandstone, Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s German Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Plastic
Late 20th Century North American Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Sandstone, Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Enamel, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Modern Sculptures
Acrylic
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
1950s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1940s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Brass
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Art Glass, Paint
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Brass
Early 20th Century Austrian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Plexiglass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass, Murano Glass
1950s European Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Silver, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
1980s Vintage Modern Sculptures
Cement
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Onyx, Wire
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Enamel, Steel
Mid-20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Leather, Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Modern Sculptures
Rock Crystal
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Chrome