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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Chinese Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
1980s North American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Enamel
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1980s Venezuelan Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass, Iron
Early 2000s French Modern Sculptures
Silver, Bronze, Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass, Chrome
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Canadian Modern Sculptures
Wood, Wenge, Cedar
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Silver Plate
1960s North American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Sterling Silver
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Alabaster, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Enamel
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Wood
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
Mid-20th Century Spanish Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Marble, Statuary Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
Late 20th Century Austrian Modern Sculptures
Clay
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble