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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paint, Paper
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
1990s American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
1980s Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Plexiglass
Late 20th Century Israeli Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paint, Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Plastic
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Foam
Late 20th Century French Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
Late 20th Century North American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paint
Late 20th Century North American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Late 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
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bamboo, Rattan
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Acrylic, Paint
Late 20th Century Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
1980s Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Plexiglass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
1990s Japanese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Canvas, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Wrought Iron
1980s American Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
1990s French Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Silk
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century French Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Metal
Late 20th Century Asian Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
1990s Japanese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
1990s Japanese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
1980s American Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
1970s Israeli Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Canvas, Paint
Late 20th Century American Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Bamboo, Rattan
Late 20th Century Turkish Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Cut Steel
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Asian Art and Furniture
Down, Linen, Silk