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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Danish Modern Sculptures
Paper
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Hardwood
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Hardwood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Wood, Paint
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Brass, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Wire
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Epoxy Resin, Paper
1990s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Glass
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Sculptures
Belgian Black Marble
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass
2010s German Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Other
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Brass
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Marble, Brass, Bronze
1990s Modern Sculptures
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ash
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Peruvian Modern Sculptures
Stone
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Stone
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Thai Modern Sculptures
Plastic, Acrylic
2010s Danish Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Gold
2010s Belgian Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
String, Plexiglass, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Sandstone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Travertine, Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
20th Century Spanish Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Colombian Modern Sculptures
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Clay
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Resin, Fiberglass, Scagliola, Wood
2010s European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Mexican Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Hardwood
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Marble, Gold Leaf
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware