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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
Late 20th Century English Modern Sculptures
Stone, Gold, Vermeil
20th Century Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
Early 2000s European Modern Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Alabaster, Brass
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass, Murano Glass, Cut Glass, Blown Glass, Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Modern Sculptures
Composition
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Earthenware
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Mirror, Reclaimed Wood, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Hardwood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
Early 20th Century Israeli Modern Sculptures
Abalone, Mother-of-Pearl, Olive
Mid-20th Century Finnish Modern Sculptures
Silver
1960s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Stone
Mid-19th Century Danish Antique Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Resin
1960s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Composition, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South American Modern Sculptures
Quartz, Rock Crystal
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Alabaster, Brass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Other
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Wood, Hardwood, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Copper
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Malachite
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Enamel, Steel
Late 20th Century English Modern Sculptures
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Sculptures
Paper
Early 20th Century German Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
1990s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century British Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Brass