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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Composition
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 2000s French Modern Sculptures
Crystal
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Polystyrene
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s Ukrainian Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s Hungarian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Acrylic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Metal
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Lucite
Late 20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Crystal, Gold
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ash
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Copper
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ash
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut