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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Composition, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wood, Plywood
1960s Vintage Modern Sculptures
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Plastic
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass, Plastic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Hardwood
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Sheepskin, Upholstery, Lacquer
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
20th Century Swedish Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Argentine Modern Sculptures
Resin, Fiberglass
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Sculptures
Epoxy Resin, Fiberglass, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Hardwood, Maple
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass, Bronze, Gold Leaf
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Reclaimed Wood, Paint
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Plastic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Modern Sculptures
Pottery
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Hardwood, Paint