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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Swedish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
1930s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s British Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay, Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Gold
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Wood
1980s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Acrylic, Wood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Gold Leaf
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Onyx, Carrara Marble, Marble, Granite, Travertine, Gold Leaf
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Onyx, Travertine, Marble, Carrara Marble, Gold Leaf
Early 2000s French Modern Sculptures
Stone
2010s English Modern Sculptures
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware, Terracotta
1990s French Modern Sculptures
Enamel
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Stone, Limestone, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Stone, Limestone
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
20th Century Danish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Stone
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Plaster
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Composition
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Plaster, Jute, Fiberglass