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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Hardwood, Paint
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Sandstone
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Malachite
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sculptures
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass, Murano Glass, Cut Glass, Blown Glass, Art Glass
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Lucite
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Sculptures
Granite
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Resin
20th Century British Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Plastic
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Glass
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass
1990s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Cut Glass, Murano Glass, Blown Glass, Art Glass, Glass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Swedish Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Balkan Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Argentine Modern Sculptures
Resin, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Austrian Modern Sculptures
Parchment Paper
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Sculptures
Cast Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Plastic
2010s Balkan Modern Sculptures
Resin
Mid-20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Balkan Modern Sculptures
Marble