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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Chinese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Rock Crystal, Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Balinese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
Early 2000s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Brass, Steel
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Carrara Marble
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Silver
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Clay
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel, Iron
Early 2000s Belgian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Carrara Marble
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Belgian Black Marble
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Travertine, Iron
Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Abstract Sculptures
Fiberglass, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Jute, Fiberglass, Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone
2010s Chinese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Rock Crystal
Late 20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s German Modern Abstract Sculptures
Natural Fiber
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin, Fiberglass, Scagliola, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
Mid-20th Century French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s Japanese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Japanese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone, Sandstone
Late 20th Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
2010s Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay, Stoneware
2010s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Enamel
1960s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Cast Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Belgian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Oak
2010s North American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Aluminum, Cut Steel
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plaster
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
1960s French Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
1980s Vintage Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
Early 2000s Belgian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
2010s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Onyx, Marble, Gold Leaf