Modern Asian Art and 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
Early 20th Century Indonesian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Porcelain
20th Century Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Marble
1970s Chinese Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Rattan
Mid-20th Century Indonesian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
Early 20th Century Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Wood, Rosewood, Reclaimed Wood
1990s Tibetan Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Lacquer, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Indonesian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Textile
2010s Chinese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Crystal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Rattan
2010s Thai Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Silk, Paint
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
Late 20th Century North American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Metal
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
Late 20th Century North American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Rope, Glass, Wood
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paint
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Copper