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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s European Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Porcelain, Clay
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Hardwood
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Terracotta
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Mahogany
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay, Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
1970s Peruvian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel, Iron
2010s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Wire, Stainless Steel, Bronze, Brass
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Majolica, Terracotta
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Japanese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
1970s Peruvian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Earthenware
Mid-20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
1980s Canadian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Enamel
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
1950s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Copper, Enamel
2010s Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Oak
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Onyx, Travertine, Granite, Marble, Carrara Marble, Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Abstract Sculptures
Oak, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Iron
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Abstract Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plaster, Resin
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement