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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Copper
2010s Greek Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Blown Glass, Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1980s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass, Steel, Magnets
Early 2000s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Blown Glass, Ceramic
2010s Korean Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Polish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
2010s Greek Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
Early 2000s Japanese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Austrian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Canadian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Copper
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Alabaster
2010s Turkish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s German Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay
2010s Peruvian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone
2010s Greek Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
Early 2000s Japanese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s German Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay
2010s African Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass, Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Alabaster
2010s English Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Blown Glass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
2010s Argentine Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin, Fiberglass
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Slate
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Paper
2010s German Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware