Kue King (b. 1981) took to art as his first language. As a 6-year-old Filipino immigrant, Kue struggled between his old and new language. As he got older he found his true language in art. Creating gave him the voice he needed to be understood. Kue found mentors in both blacksmithing and interior design. Kue’s early mentors nurture his sole dedication to his craft with opportunities in design, fabrication, and teaching him what it takes to be an exemplary artist. Kue found mentors in both blacksmithing and interior design. Kue’s early mentors nurture his sole dedication to his craft with opportunities in design, fabrication, and teaching him what it takes to be an exemplary artist. The simplicity of wire and the utility of sacred intersection of line and curve inspires Kue to build his art. His travels take him to the far reaches of the earth to explore life, design, and architecture. Through his study of design, Kue seeks to build art that is easy to live with. His sculpture breaks the cycle of mundane daily chaos into a cycle of tranquility and constant inspiration. Through his craft, Kue breathes sacredness into the fibers of his sculpture, creating work with vibration and resonance. He believes that through art humans can reach divinity. “Artistry and magic, the embedding of emotion by forming tangible objects is my meditative technical process. There is a moment when what I create reaches a point so true to my vision that in that very tiny little fragment of time, a feeling of perfection is achieved. A recent personal experience: Fingers tying and twisting away over the last few bundles on a special piece I’ve been working on since winter. Looking down over my work, my eyes cloud over and I see droplets falling through metal branches. I was with nature at the moment and time stood still. I don’t know where it came from, but in that portal marked a personal evolution. Great works of art are forever embedded with gratitude. When I place work in gorgeous homes, they are transformed into symbolic representation of the collectors lives. My work has its own destiny. I have been gifted years of self-exploration and time to create art for arts sake. Now, I feel that the work is the process, and then it’s free to live its own story. I am simply a vessel, dancing with muses to create pieces that honor such times as the crossing over of a loved-one, beating a deadly illness, a marriage, or a new child. Often the work holds such intentions. I am honored to grow into the long-standing tradition of the sacredness in art. And these experiences make it all worth it.”

A Close Look at modern Furniture

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.

Materials: brass Furniture

Whether burnished or lacquered, antique, new and vintage brass furniture can elevate a room.

From traditional spaces that use brass as an accent — by way of brass dining chairs or brass pendant lights — to contemporary rooms that embrace bold brass decor, there are many ways to incorporate the golden-hued metal.

“I find mixed metals to be a very updated approach, as opposed to the old days, when it was all shiny brass of dulled-out silver tones,” says interior designer Drew McGukin. “I especially love working with brass and blackened steel for added warmth and tonality. To me, aged brass is complementary across many design styles and can trend contemporary or traditional when pushed either way.”

He proves his point in a San Francisco entryway, where a Lindsey Adelman light fixture hangs above a limited-edition table and stools by Kelly Wearstler — also an enthusiast of juxtapositions — all providing bronze accents. The walls were hand-painted by artist Caroline Lizarraga and the ombré stair runner is by DMc.

West Coast designer Catherine Kwong chose a sleek brass and lacquered-parchment credenza by Scala Luxury to fit this San Francisco apartment. “The design of this sideboard is reminiscent of work by French modernist Jean Prouvé. The brass font imbues the space with warmth and the round ‘portholes’ provide an arresting geometric element.”

Find antique, new and vintage brass tables, case pieces and other furnishings now on 1stDibs.

Finding the Right abstract-sculptures for You

Abstract sculpture has evolved over time with artists making a variety of striking statements in stone, bronze, ceramic and other materials. In the collection of abstract sculptures on 1stDibs, you are sure to find a piece that is perfect for your space.

When exploring how to arrange furniture and decor, consider color, texture and what kind of energy it should evoke. Abstract sculpture can elevate any home through its many decorative possibilities.

Auguste Rodin is often called the father of modern sculpture for his pioneering naturalistic forms and figures that vividly express emotion. His work in the 19th and early 20th centuries broke with artistic conventions and inspired modernism, leading to a new period of avant-garde abstraction.

Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque were among the first artists to push abstract sculpture into the mainstream. They helped define the Cubism movement, which focused on deconstructing the world abstractly. Other 20th-century artistic movements, including Italian Futurism, Dadaism, Neo-Dadaism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism, all contributed to the advancement of abstract sculpture. Italian Futurism, for example, celebrated movement, dynamics and technology in abstract sculpture. These movements continue to inform abstract sculpture today.

With abstract art — sculpture, painting or a grouping of prints — a work can complement a living room, dining room or other space, or it can act as a bold focal point.

Browse a range of modern abstract sculptures, postmodern abstract sculptures and other sculptures on 1stDibs.