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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ash
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ash
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Copper
Early 2000s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Composition
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s English Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Zinc
2010s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Nickel
2010s Mexican Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone
2010s Mexican Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone
2010s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
2010s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
2010s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
Early 2000s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 2000s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone, Limestone
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Belgian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal, Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Copper, Zinc
2010s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plastic, Plaster
Early 2000s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plastic, Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s Polish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
Early 2000s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Metal
Early 2000s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Metal
Early 2000s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Metal
2010s Polish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass