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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Alabaster
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel, Iron
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Brass, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Wire
Late 20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
Early 2000s Zimbabwean Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Serpentine
2010s Chinese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
1970s Belizean Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Rosewood
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Nickel, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
1980s Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete
2010s African Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete
2010s Australian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Argentine Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin, Fiberglass
1960s Mexican Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Hardwood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s Greek Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Sandstone
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Paper
1990s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Wood
2010s Turkish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Limestone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cement
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Copper
1930s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain