Modern Abstract 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Russian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Limestone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Limestone
1970s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Iron
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
1960s British Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Wire, Stainless Steel, Brass
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Wire, Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cement
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
Late 20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Iron, Wrought Iron
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
Late 20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel, Iron
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cement
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Travertine, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Travertine, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Carrara Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Other
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
2010s Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Onyx, Steel
Early 2000s Belgian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s Greek Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
Early 2000s Belgian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Carrara Marble
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cast Stone
Early 2000s Belgian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
Early 2000s Belgian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Carrara Marble
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Israeli Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic