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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 German Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Wire, Stainless Steel, Bronze, Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay
Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Copper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Quartz
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass, Gold
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plastic
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
1950s German Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Oak, Coating
2010s Chinese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Fiberglass
1990s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Wood
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 2000s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1870s Italian Antique Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Chinese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Fiberglass
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Other
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Gold, Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
1950s German Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Coating, Acrylic, Oak
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Chinese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Fiberglass
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Quartz
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
2010s Brazilian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
2010s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Driftwood
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Paint
2010s Peruvian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Other
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Quartz
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Iron
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Wool
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cast Stone
2010s British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Quartz
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Quartz
2010s Brazilian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Peruvian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Enamel
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood