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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Hardwood
20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cut Glass
Mid-20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze, Enamel, Steel
Early 2000s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plaster
20th Century European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s Chinese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Rock Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cement
2010s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Enamel
1960s Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain, Acrylic
2010s Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Paper
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Gold Leaf
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Balinese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
2010s British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Terracotta
1990s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Hardwood, Maple, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay
Mid-20th Century North American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Chrome
2010s North American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Fiberglass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Japanese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Gold, Brass
2010s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood, Pine
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Onyx, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel