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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Iron
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Mirror, Paint, Reclaimed Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Marble, Chrome
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
Late 20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Chrome, Brass
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Cement
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Copper
20th Century Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Silver
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble, Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Stone, Limestone, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Belgian Black Marble
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Silver
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Brass
Late 20th Century North American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Stone, Limestone, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Onyx, Carrara Marble, Marble, Granite, Travertine, Gold Leaf
1980s North American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Vintage Modern Sculptures
Epoxy Resin
Mid-20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Stone, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal, Sheet Metal
1930s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
Mid-20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 2000s French Modern Sculptures
Marble, Metal
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
Early 2000s French Modern Sculptures
Marble, Metal
Early 2000s French Modern Sculptures
Marble, Metal
Early 2000s French Modern Sculptures
Marble, Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal, Iron
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Metal
1950s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Acrylic