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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Cement, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass, Art Glass
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
1950s German Vintage Modern Sculptures
Acrylic, Oak, Coating
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Peruvian Modern Sculptures
Stone
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Other
1970s Philippine Vintage Modern Sculptures
Stone, Marble, Brass
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Sculptures
Composition
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s British Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s German Modern Sculptures
Organic Material, Paper
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Quartz
2010s German Modern Sculptures
Birch
2010s Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Polish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s British Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Travertine
2010s Brazilian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Other
2010s Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Enamel
2010s Greek Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Onyx, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Stoneware, Rope
2010s Brazilian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Brazilian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Rose Quartz
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Quartz
2010s Polish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain