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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Plastic, Plaster
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Gold Plate
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Cement
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Earthenware, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Gold Plate
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Sculptures
Composition
2010s African Modern Sculptures
Brass, Steel
2010s Chinese Modern Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Acrylic
1930s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Brazilian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Resin
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Danish Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plexiglass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Malaysian Modern Sculptures
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Sculptures
Metal, Stainless Steel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Composition
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wicker, Rattan
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut, Maple
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Porcelain, Acrylic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
Early 2000s Argentine Modern Sculptures
Stone, Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
1980s Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Crystal, Brass
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Sculptures
Lucite
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
Late 20th Century Zimbabwean Modern Sculptures
Stone
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Limestone, Marble
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Nickel, Steel, Brass