Modern Abstract Sculptures
MODERN STYLE
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
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Style: Modern
Period: Mid-20th Century
Brass Abstract Head Table Top Sculpture, Signed Levin
By Brancusi
Located in Saint Louis, MO
Abstract Gold / Brass head sculpture on black marble base, signed on face of sculpture " Levin " evokes the work of Brancusi or Jean Arp. Want to...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Brass
Vintage Sculptural Silver Necklace by Graziella Laffi
Located in Atlanta, GA
A bespoken sterling silver necklace with five roundel bell shape of gradual sizes linked by joint chains, designed and made by Graziella Laffi, Lima, Peru, circa 1965. The subtly hammered roundels evoke a sense of history with the form found in pre-Columbian culture, yet the necklace appears beyond ethnic, it exuberates a confident and bold modernism. The necklace with Peruvian Cultural Ministry label to verso.
Graziella Laffi was born in 1923 in Florence, Italy to Gino Laffi, a silversmith and artist. Following her family tradition, Graziella enrolled in master classes after elementary school, focusing on design and painting. She next attended Escuela de Bellas Artes de Puerta Romana for three years, where Gino taught, and then to the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, where she concentrated in architecture until the start of World War II. In 1947, Graziella, then twenty-four, immigrated with her parents to Peru. Gino later created a silversmith studio and showroom called Fabrica Laffi on Avenue Mexico, where Graziella initially learned her Craft. The Pre-Columbian culture in her adopted country inspired Graziella to travel and collect, which ultimately influence her design in the silver pieces. Graziella learned the metalworking techniques of the ancient Peruvian civilizations and rejected the current technology. She mostly used hammering, rolling and creating joints as the ancients do. As an ambassador of Peruvian culture, her work promoted the indigenous Peruvian art and rekindled the interest in its ancient heritage throughout South America, the United States and Europe. She exhibited her growing collection of Peruvian artifacts...
Category
1960s Peruvian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Sterling Silver
Abstract Floor Sculpture in Polished Chrome, 1970s
Located in Ft Lauderdale, FL
Abstract floor sculpture in polished chrome, 1970s. Twisted, welded polished strips of chromed steel mounted onto a black glass base. Scuffs to base, American, 1970s. In the manner o...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Steel
'Pichet Espagnol' from the Madoura Pottery 'AR 245' by Pablo Picasso '1954'
Located in London, GB
'Pichet Espagnol' ceramic piece from the Madoura Pottery (A.R. 245) by Pablo Picasso (1954). A fired, unglazed ceramic pitcher in the form of a stylise...
Category
1950s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic
Vintage Resin Ovoid Sculpture Red, Grey, Purple, Tan, Yellow Desk Accessory
Located in North Miami, FL
This wonderful unusual vintage small resin ovoid egg shaped sculpture has floating resin pieces inside in large shapes of the colors of purple, tan, gray, yellow and translucent inside the red resin. The red casts a color of magenta red. Each side is different. It is from the 60's. The custom lucite base is an additional add on to hold the sculpture in place and give it a little height. It has an incised indentation for the sculpture to sit in. The lucite base is at 3.25" x 3.25" x 2" H. The resin sculpture egg shape alone is 5" H x 3" D x 3" W. It has great shape and great colors. Makes a great desk accessory and console table sculpture. Sorry the photos do not do justice to the brilliant translucent resin colors especially the red. We just had to make a new lucite base with a new incised indentation for the resin egg...
Category
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Resin, Lucite
Steel Cinetic Object "Tetracono SM" by Bruno Munari for Danese Milano
By Bruno Munari
Located in Montreal, QC
Steel and aluminium Cinetic Object "Tetracono SM" by Bruno Munari for Danese Milano
Paper manufacturer's label to underside ‘Bruno Mari 1965 Tetracono S.M....
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Steel
Enzo Mari, Rare Resin Cube, Sculpture, Paperweight, with Polyhedral Inside
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This is a very rare Mari resin cube from the 1950s, it measures in cm 7 x 7 x 7, has a couple of flee bites in 2 corners. Similar sample with black inside in Progressione di sculptur...
Category
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Resin
Ron Schmidt Wall Sculpture Iron, Nail & Brass Brutalist Sculpture
By Ron Schmidt
Located in Toledo, OH
Mid-Century Modern iron, brass and nail Brutalist wall sculpture by Ron Schmidt circa 1960's. Fan pinwheel pattern. Very nice condition. Dimensions: 3.5" d...
Category
1960s Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Iron
Large Ceramic Sculpture
Located in Munich, DE
Creative phantasy sculpture signed by the artist
Category
Mid-20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic
20th Century Bottle Dryer, in the Style of Porte-Bouteilles by Marcel Duchamp
Located in Dusseldorf, DE
Original vintage bottle dryer or bottle holder in the style of the well-known "Readymade" with the name "Porte-Bouteille" by the French Artist Mar...
Category
Mid-20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal
Black Ceramic Sculpture "Woman" 1950
Located in Milano, IT
Black ceramic sculpture "woman" mid-20th century.
Category
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic
Rhys Caparn, Extraterrestial, American Mid-Century Cast Stone Sculpture, 1969
By Rhys Caparn
Located in New York, NY
This very unusual American Mid-Century Modern cast stone sculpture by Rhys Caparn, "Extraterrestial" on the original black marble base is one of the sculptor’s famous pieces. This wo...
Category
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Cast Stone
Jean Marc Expressionist Bronze Sculpture of a Man and Monkey on Base
Located in New York, NY
A vintage bronze sculpture, rendered in the Expressionist style, by French sculptor and ‘forgeron d'art’ (art blacksmith) Jean Marc of Cordes-sur-Ciel, created in 1961, which depicts...
Category
1960s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Abbott Pattison Abstract, Bronze Sculpture of Three People Elements, Signed
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This is one of the great and traditional sculptures by the very well known Chicago artist Abbott Pattison. This particular sculpture is one of he made in Italy, is also signed and ma...
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Modernist Carved Sandstone Figural Sculpture
Located in Rochester, NY
Sinuous modern carving of a Mesoamerican. Aztec? Mayan? Striated sandstone, circa mid-20th century.
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Stone, Sandstone
Patinated Metal Tendril Sculpture
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sitting atop a cubic pedestal, the amorphous tendril combines a soft dimension with a pointed shape. The rust texture highlights the varied facets. The oversized base provides an int...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal
Bronze Sculpture "Feminity" by James L. Lawton, 1967
Located in Miami, FL
Bronze sculpture by James Lawton, titled "Feminity"
Signed and dated Jim Lawton 67
Comes with archive pictures and letter by the artist (see pictures).
Category
1960s North American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Ceramic Abstract Sculpture by Jacques Pouchain
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Ceramic abstract sculpture by Jacques Pouchain looks like bronze
Unique piece.
Category
1960s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Stoneware
Abstract Spill-Cast Sculpture
Located in Highland, IN
This delightful abstract piece employs the artistic idea of the "happy accident" where the artist embraces chaos and seeming randomness in creating, making it appear that the work sc...
Category
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal
Henri Georges Adam Bronze Sculpture Unique Piece
By Henri-Georges Adam
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Henri Georges Adam, 1904-1967.
Unique piece, stamped 0/0, signed Adam, foundry signature: Susses Frères Paris,
circa 1950-1960.
Category
1950s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Monumental Articulated Stainless Steel Rod Sculpture
Located in New York, NY
Monumental articulated stainless steel rod modern sculpture on a black metal base by Giuseppe Minoretti.
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Stainless Steel
Set of Six Modernist Wall Reliefs
Located in New York, NY
A set of six modernist wall reliefs.
Abstract red and white fibreglass forms mounted in chrome-plated frames.
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Chrome
Jaru Lucite and 24-Karat Gold Leaf Sculpture
By Jaru
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A two-piece Jaru cast Lucite sculpture with embedded 24-karat gold leaf flakes this ball placed on a pedestal sparkles and shimmers playing off any light source giving it a element o...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Gold Leaf
Pair of Venini Torqued Obelisks
By Carlo Scarpa
Located in New York, NY
Around 1930 Gio Ponti gave Paolo Venini some sketches for glass obelisks. Shortly thereafter Carlo Scarpa designed for Venini a torqued obelisk in transparent diamante glass -- so na...
Category
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Glass
Brass and Beryllium Copper Sonambinet Sounding Sculpture by Val Bertoia
By Val Bertoia
Located in Dallas, TX
Monumental Val Bertoia sculpture
60 Beryllium copper rods silvered in a brass base in two square columns. Makes a beautiful resonating tone.
Ti...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Sculpture by John Atkin
Located in Ciudad de Mexico, MX
Abstract sculpture by John Atkin.
Signed by the artist 1963.
Category
1960s European Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal
Surrealistic Sculptural Clock by Pedro Friedeberg
Located in Atlanta, GA
An iconic carved sculptural clock by the famed Mexican surrealistic artist and designer Pedro Friedeberg (Mexican, b. 1937) circa 1960s. The whimsical...
Category
1960s Mexican Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Wood
Ceramic Sculpture by Ka Kwong Hui
By Hiu Ka Kwong
Located in Pawtucket, RI
Rare and large ceramic sculpture by Pop ceramicist Ka Kwong Hui. Signed.
Hui immigrated to U.S. in 1948. Received a BFA in 1951 and a MFA in 1952 from Al...
Category
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic
Philip & Kelvin LaVerne Sculpture
Located in New York, NY
"Three Graces," Unique Sculpture by Philip & Kelvin LaVerne. Bronze sculpture of abstract figures on pedestal base. Artist-signed on base. Published: Sculpture II, The Art of Philip ...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Ellen Key Oberg Modernist Ceramic Sculpture, Impetuous Person
By Ellen Key Oberg
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Ellen Key Oberg exhibited with all the major artists of her time including
Alexancer Archipenko and William Zorach.
This piece received an honorable mention in one of the many exhibitions
she participated in.
It's a large Modern ceramic sculpture on a mahogany base with a
matte gun metal glaze with an abstract bio-morphic design.
It's signed Ellen Key Oberg and titled "Impetuous Person" on the base
in magic marker. The artist's name is also incised in the clay.
Measures: 16.25" H x 14" W x 9.5" D.
Ellen Key-Oberg (1905-1989).
Ellen Burke Key-Oberg was born in Marion Alabama in 1905. She studied art in New York at Cooper Union Art School and with John Steuart Curry at the Art Students League. She was a member of: The Artists League of America; the League of Present Day Artists; New York Society of Ceramic Artists; New York Society of Women Artists and the Audubon Artists.
Her sculpture exhibitions include: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Artists for Victory”,
1942; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, 1942; Allied Artists of America, 1941; the National Academy of Design, 1943-46; Audubon Artists, 1943-46; Artists League of America, 1945; Riverside Museum, 1945-46; Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, 1946; Museum of Natural History (NY), 1946 with William Zorach; Studio Guild Traveling Exhibition, 1938-42, Washington D.C. (prize), Alabama, New York and Connecticut.
She taught at the Chapin School and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Ellen Key-Oberg exhibited and sold with her contemporaries: Paul Manship, William Zorach, Alexander Archipenko, Jose de Creeft and Louise Nevelson. She is listed in art and sales references: mantel Fieldings; Mallett; Who Was Who in American Art and Davenports. She is also listed online
with Ask Art...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Clay
L. Filippi Abstract Bronze Outdoor Fountain on Granite Base
Located in New York, NY
Modern abstract bronze fountain by L. Filippi. The piece has an organic shaped bowl atop a more geometric base, all atop a granite pedestal. Signed by the artist L. Filippi on one of...
Category
1960s Argentine Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Granite, Bronze
Bronze Owl Titled "Grand Duc" by Francois Pompon
Located in Stamford, CT
A large cast bronze Owl by Francois Pompon, titled "Grand Duc" designed in 1928 and cast between 1934-1939. The patinated bronze is marked with a Fonde...
Category
1930s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Clear Modern Sculptural Glass Object Sculpture or Paperweight Table Decor
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
Modern sculptural glass object. Very heavy. The base is a rounded hexagon shape and very solid. Solid short blunt glass rods protrude from the base. A beautiful sculptural piece to a...
Category
1950s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Glass, Blown Glass
Large Kinetic Sculpture by Jerry Meatyard
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
A large kinetic (moving) sculpture by Jerry Meatyard circa 1960s. Made of steel and brass, measures approximate 64.5" H, 36" W.
Jerry Meatyard was born Nov. 25, 1929 in Bloomington-...
Category
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Unusual Brutalist Sculpture
By Paul Evans
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
An interesting Brutalist sculpture in the style of Paul Evans, circa 1960s. Heavy steel, welded. No signature apparent.
Category
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Sexy Modern Bronze Sculpture Attributed to Jean Arp
By Jean Arp
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A beautiful and elegant bronze sculpture attributed to Jean Arp, the patina is so much nicer in person.
Category
1950s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Modernist Bronze Sculpture Large Female Torso
Located in New York, NY
A large Mid-Century Modernist style patinated bronze sculpture of a stylized tall female torso. Artist unknown; unsigned. Very good original condition.
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Surrealist Abstract Patinated Bronze Sculpture in Manner of Wifredo Lam
By Wifredo Lam
Located in New York, NY
Surrealist abstract sculpture in patinated bronze in the manner of Wifredo Lam or Yves Tanguy. The sculpture depicts an abstract figure on one knee, atop a wooden cube base and is ma...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Bronze Boucher Signed Vintage Architectural Sculpture Carrara Marble Base French
By Boucheron
Located in North Miami, FL
The intersecting sculptural lines of this French signed vintage bronze sculpture by Boucher is polished and has a rose gold color of the bronze. It sits on a white and gray veined Carrara marble block base that is attached. The measurements for the sculpture alone are as follows: 9" H x 5" D x 4.5" W. It is from the 1960s. The intersecting lines of this sculpture give it parallel forms. It is a dynamic sculpture...
Category
1960s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Jose de Creeft Carved Wood Sculpture of Feet
Located in New York, NY
A carved wood sculpture of multiple interconnected feet, carved by Spanish-born American artist Jose de Creeft around the 1930s-1940s in the Mexican School...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Wood
Etched Marble Lover's Embrace by Bernard Simon
Located in Asbury Park, NJ
Fine example of the rough and polished sculpting work of Bernard Simon, featuring two figures joined in an embrace, mounted on a square wood block and able to rotate on metal pin.
...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze Jean Arp Style Abstract Cast Sculpture Vintage
Located in North Miami, FL
This fabulous vintage French bronze vintage sculpture that looks like rose gold has a very Jean Arp style. It is cast bronze and was once professionally polished but now has a slight...
Category
1960s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Joseph Martinek, Abstract Wood Ibex Sculpture, Signed
By Joseph Martinek
Located in New York, NY
An Art Deco era sculpture of an ibex in a recumbent position by Joseph Martinek (American/Czech, 1915-1989), produced circa 1930s-1940s, hand-carved from a single piece of wood, moun...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Wood
Wood Cubist Sculpture by Leo Russell
By Leo Russell
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Wood sculpture by artist Leo Russell. Chicago born artist who worked mostly in painting and silkscreen did a series of wood sculptures in the 1940s. Pieces were acquired by the Gugge...
Category
1940s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Wood
Emerson Woelffer Bonze Sculpture, Abstract Face, Signed, Dated, Numbered
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Nice modern abstract Face, by the well known artist, Emerson Woelffer. Signed, numbered 1/4 and dated 1947.
Category
1940s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Monumental Neal Small Op Art "Sphere in Cube" Lucite Floor Lamp Sculpture, 1960s
By Neal Small
Located in Bainbridge, NY
Large Neal Small Illuminating Floating Orb Lucite Floor Light Sculpture. Featuring a rectangular form with square White Lucite base, clear square...
Category
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Lucite
Vintage Modern Abstract Bronze Sculpture c1960s
Located in Oakland, CA
Stunning modernist bronze sculpture expertly cast by unknown artist c1960s-70s. From a collection of a prominent collector in the Bay Area.
Category
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Miguel Berrocal : "Romeo and Juliette*-Opus 101", brass sculpture 1966/67
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Miguel Ortiz Berrocal (1933-2006) : "Romeo et Juliette", Opus 101 (1966-1967)
Puzzle-sculpture made of "polished mirror" brass in 16 elements
Signed "Berrocal" and numbered on 20...
Category
1960s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Brass
Large Bronze Six-Corned Flower Vase with Chain Pattern by Aida Tomiyasu
Located in Stamford, CT
Of ovoid shape with a short neck, each panel of the body decorated with a single vertical band alternating with a double band filled with spirals and lines in relief. Original wooden box, the lid with an inscription reading Seidô ruimon rokugata kabin (bronze six-corned flower vase with chain pattern), the reverse of the lid with inscription reading Teiten shuppin (displayed at Teiten) Tomiyasu saku and sealed Tomi.
A bit about the artist-
Aida Tomiyasu...
Category
1930s Japanese Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Sculpture by Paul Evans
By Paul Evans
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Important sculpture by Paul Evans, in welded and color enameled steel, New Hope, USA, 1965.
Letter of Authenticity from Dorsey Reading and Provenance available on request.
Category
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Steel
Modern abstract sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Modern abstract sculptures for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage abstract sculptures created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, serveware, ceramics, silver and glass, wall decorations and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, ceramic and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Modern abstract sculptures made in a specific country, there are Europe, North America, and United States pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original abstract sculptures, popular names associated with this style include Richard A. Hirsch, Kue King, Jacopo Foggini, and Orfeo Quagliata. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for abstract sculptures differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $25 and tops out at $450,000 while the average work can sell for $2,322.