Modern 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Dutch Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
1990s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Sculptures
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Hardwood
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Crystal
1950s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Chinese Modern Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
2010s Chinese Modern Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
2010s Chinese Modern Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Cut Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Sculptures
Resin
1990s Brazilian Modern Sculptures
Amethyst, Silver Plate
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Rock Crystal, Silver Leaf
Mid-20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Granite
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Wire
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Sculptures
Lucite, Wood
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Sheepskin, Upholstery, Lacquer
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Composition
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Alabaster, Marble
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
1970s Australian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Wood, Hardwood, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Composition
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Wool
Mid-20th Century Modern Sculptures
Copper
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mexican Modern Sculptures
Marble, Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware, Terracotta
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Aluminum