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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Cast Stone
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Glass
20th Century Spanish Modern Sculptures
Multi-gemstone
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Sculptures
Wood
1990s Italian Modern Sculptures
Plexiglass
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Acrylic, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Brass
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Jute, Fiberglass, Plaster
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Metal
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
1990s French Modern Sculptures
Crystal
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
Early 2000s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
1970s Peruvian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Resin, Plastic
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Cotton, Wood, Nylon
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Cast Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century Spanish Modern Sculptures
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Sculptures
Composition
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century Swedish Modern Sculptures
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Sculptures
Sandstone
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Brass
20th Century Spanish Modern Sculptures
Iron
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
2010s European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Stone, Metal
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Crystal
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Steel
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Sculptures
Clay