Modern Benches
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Canadian Modern Benches
Metal, Steel
2010s Canadian Modern Benches
Steel
2010s American Modern Benches
Leather, Sheepskin, Faux Leather, Foam, Maple, Walnut
2010s Canadian Modern Benches
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Benches
Oak
2010s Canadian Modern Benches
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Benches
Faux Leather, Wood, Lacquer
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Benches
Brass
2010s Canadian Modern Benches
Metal, Steel
2010s French Modern Benches
Concrete
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Fiberglass
2010s Canadian Modern Benches
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Benches
Brass
2010s Japanese Modern Benches
Stone
20th Century Unknown Modern Benches
Bronze, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Fiberglass
Early 2000s American Modern Benches
Concrete, Stainless Steel, Aluminum
2010s American Modern Benches
Fabric, Wool, Foam
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Fiberglass
2010s South Korean Modern Benches
Stone, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Benches
Bouclé, Foam, Maple, Down
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Benches
Velvet, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Fiberglass
2010s Argentine Modern Benches
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Pine
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Carbon Fiber
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Benches
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Pine
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Nutwood, Plywood, Lacquer
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Nutwood, Plywood, Lacquer
2010s American Modern Benches
Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Walnut, Lacquer
2010s British Modern Benches
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Nutwood, Plywood, Lacquer
2010s Mexican Modern Benches
Cedar
2010s Portuguese Modern Benches
Suede, Wood
2010s Tunisian Modern Benches
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Australian Modern Benches
Steel
2010s Tunisian Modern Benches
Metal
2010s American Modern Benches
Maple, Walnut, Oak
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Benches
Cotton, Walnut
2010s American Modern Benches
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Benches
Fabric, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Indonesian Modern Benches
Synthetic, Rattan
2010s American Modern Benches
Upholstery, Sapele Wood
Late 20th Century German Modern Benches
Steel, Chrome