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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wire
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Crystal, Gold, Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Balinese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
Late 20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century North American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Composition, Marble, Brass
Late 20th Century Brazilian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1950s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin, Fiberglass, Scagliola, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
2010s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Finnish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Silver
2010s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Felt
Late 20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Israeli Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Brass
2010s Romanian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Wood
Late 20th Century British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Other
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Jute, Fiberglass, Plaster
2010s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Lucite
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
2010s Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Walnut, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Walnut
2010s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Pine
2010s Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Oak
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Plastic
2010s German Modern Abstract Sculptures
Natural Fiber
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone
2010s English Modern Abstract Sculptures
Other
1960s Japanese Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Driftwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Enamel, Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Carrara Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Gold, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Abstract Sculptures
Shagreen Stingray, Fiberglass