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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass, Murrine
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
1990s Dutch Modern Abstract Sculptures
Felt
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Blown Glass
1990s Czech Modern Abstract Sculptures
Crystal
1990s Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stone
1990s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
1990s Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Pottery
1990s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Brazilian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Gold, Copper
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Blown Glass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Blown Glass
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1990s Portuguese Modern Abstract Sculptures
Limestone
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Resin
1990s Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Granite, Marble
1990s Scandinavian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
1990s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Wood
1990s Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass
1990s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Brass
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Travertine, Iron
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Wood
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Goat Hair
1990s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Stainless Steel
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
1990s British Modern Abstract Sculptures
Gold Leaf
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plastic
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
1990s Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Chrome
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Hardwood, Paint
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Lucite
1990s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Silver Plate, Bronze
1990s Polish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
1990s Mexican Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Steel
1990s Unknown Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
1990s French Modern Abstract Sculptures
Murano Glass
1990s Italian Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s Polish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Art Glass
1990s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Lucite
1990s Swedish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Bronze, Iron
1990s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Marble, Belgian Black Marble