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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Spanish Modern Sculptures
Marble
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
1940s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wood
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Crystal, Brass
Late 20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Iron
2010s Hungarian Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
20th Century Czech Modern Sculptures
Crystal
1930s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Chinese Modern Sculptures
Crystal
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Plaster
1990s Unknown Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Swedish Modern Sculptures
Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s Modern Sculptures
Crystal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass
1990s Modern Sculptures
Acrylic, Hardwood, Lacquer
Late 20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Granite
2010s German Modern Sculptures
Clay
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay, Stoneware
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Stone
Late 20th Century English Modern Sculptures
Plaster
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s English Modern Sculptures
Acrylic, Wood
2010s Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay, Stoneware
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1960s German Vintage Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century German Modern Sculptures
Plastic, Acrylic, Silicone
1980s Israeli Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Indian Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Turkish Modern Sculptures
Olive
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Sandstone
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Stone
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Indian Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s English Modern Sculptures
Other
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Sandstone
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Sandstone
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass, Steel, Nickel
20th Century English Modern Sculptures
Vermeil, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Cut Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s German Modern Sculptures
Natural Fiber
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s German Modern Sculptures
Clay
Late 20th Century English Modern Sculptures
Pottery
1970s Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wrought Iron