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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Milk Glass, Murano Glass, Cut Glass, Blown Glass, Art Glass, Glass
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Carrara Marble
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cut Glass, Murano Glass, Blown Glass, Art Glass, Glass
1980s European Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Chrome
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cut Glass, Murano Glass, Blown Glass, Art Glass, Glass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Blown Glass
1990s Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Plexiglass
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Brass
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Hardwood, Paint
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Alabaster
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Blown Glass
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cut Steel
Late 20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Brazilian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Rock Crystal, Wrought Iron
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Onyx, Brass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Limestone, Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
Late 20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Acrylic
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass
1990s Unknown Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze, Brass
1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal, Enamel
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass