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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1990s North American Modern Sculptures
Wool, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Plaster
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble
1970s Canadian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Stone
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Steel
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Stone, Alabaster
Early 20th Century Austrian Modern Sculptures
Gold, Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Brass
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Wood, Fir
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Sculptures
Rubber
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Polish Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass
Early 2000s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Metal
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Sculptures
Plastic
1990s Czech Modern Sculptures
Crystal
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Sculptures
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Acrylic, Lucite, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
Early 2000s Indonesian Modern Sculptures
Stone, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
1990s Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Stone
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wood
Early 2000s Greek Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century Mexican Modern Sculptures
Marble
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
2010s Modern Sculptures
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
1990s Swedish Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
20th Century North American Modern Sculptures
Alabaster, Stainless Steel
1970s North American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Travertine
2010s African Modern Sculptures
Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Steel
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Danish Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Granite, Brass