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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
20th Century Unknown Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
1980s European Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Slate
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
Late 20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
1990s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Brass
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Iron
20th Century Unknown Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Swedish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cut Steel
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
1980s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Earthenware, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Silver Plate, Brass
1950s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1950s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Blown Glass
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
Late 20th Century Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Resin
2010s Swedish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Onyx, Gold Leaf
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Copper
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Chrome
2010s British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
1970s Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Bronze, Sheet Metal
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 2000s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin, Acrylic
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Unknown Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Epoxy Resin, Lacquer
1980s German Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century Unknown Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel