Modern Figurative 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass, Plastic
2010s European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Blown Glass, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Argentine Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
20th Century Trinidadian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Art Glass, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
2010s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Alabaster
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Cast Stone, Brass, Nickel
20th Century European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
20th Century European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1940s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century North American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
Early 2000s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Other, Wire, Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Figurative Sculptures
Granite
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
20th Century Canadian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
20th Century Belgian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass, Wood, Plexiglass
2010s German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Rubber
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Travertine, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal, Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Dutch Modern Figurative Sculptures
Velvet, Polyester
2010s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plastic, Plaster