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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
1990s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1960s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Afghan Modern Sculptures
Crystal, Multi-gemstone, Rock Crystal, Other
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Marble
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Afghan Modern Sculptures
Crystal, Multi-gemstone, Rock Crystal, Tourmaline, Other
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass
1980s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Composition, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Sculptures
Crystal, Multi-gemstone, Rock Crystal, Other
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Danish Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s British Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
1960s English Vintage Modern Sculptures
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Rock Crystal, Marble
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
2010s Danish Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Earthenware
Early 20th Century English Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Pottery, Ceramic
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Wood
1980s Malagasy Vintage Modern Sculptures
Crystal
2010s Balkan Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Sandstone
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1960s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
1990s Unknown Modern Sculptures
Metal
Late 20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass