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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s European Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plywood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Porcelain, Wood
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1930s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Plexiglass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Hardwood, Maple, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Acrylic
Early 2000s Danish Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
1990s British Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass, Cut Glass, Resin
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Sculptures
Concrete
1960s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass, Cut Glass, Resin
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 20th Century Austrian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Other
2010s British Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass, Art Glass, Porcelain
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Porcelain, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Brass, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Stoneware