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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Belgian Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Danish Modern Sculptures
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Other
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Stone
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Natural Fiber
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Indian Modern Sculptures
Metal
1990s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Felt
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
1990s German Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Stone, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary South American Modern Sculptures
Crystal
20th Century Spanish Modern Sculptures
Iron
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Wood, Paint
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1940s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Reclaimed Wood, Paint
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s German Modern Sculptures
Natural Fiber
Early 2000s Swedish Modern Sculptures
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Brass
20th Century English Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
2010s Romanian Modern Sculptures
Glass, Wood
Late 19th Century Antique Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s Belgian Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass
2010s Finnish Modern Sculptures
Ash, Maple
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Danish Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Reclaimed Wood, Paint
2010s Belgian Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Bamboo, Wood
2010s German Modern Sculptures
Natural Fiber, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s British Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Brazilian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Iron
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Enamel