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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Paper
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Paper
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Paper
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
2010s Lebanese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete
2010s British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
2010s Swedish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Swedish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain
1980s European Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plywood
2010s Brazilian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Slate
2010s North American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin, Epoxy Resin, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Paper
2010s Balkan Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete
2010s English Modern Abstract Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Brazilian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
2010s Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Composition
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Scrap Wood, Paint
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay
1990s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Belgian Black Marble
1850s Italian Antique Modern Abstract Sculptures
Iron
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Slate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
Early 2000s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Iron
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plexiglass, Fiberglass
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Foam
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
1980s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Gold Leaf
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Metal
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cast Stone
1980s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze, Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
Late 20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cast Stone
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic