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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Austrian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
20th Century North American Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Austrian Modern Sculptures
Clay
2010s Austrian Modern Sculptures
Silver Leaf
Late 20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Travertine
20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Jade
2010s Central American Modern Sculptures
Wood, Cypress
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Paper
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Stone, Limestone
20th Century Philippine Modern Sculptures
Coral
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Mahogany
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Sculptures
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wood, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
Early 20th Century Congolese Modern Sculptures
Copper
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s English Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wicker
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Chrome
Late 20th Century North American Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Malachite, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Majolica
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
1940s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Wood, Fir
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Quartz
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass, Wood, Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Marble