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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal, Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Sculptures
Crystal, Multi-gemstone, Rock Crystal, Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Marble, Alabaster
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
20th Century Trinidadian Modern Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Asian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century German Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel, Metal
1930s Danish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
Late 20th Century German Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Austrian Modern Sculptures
Parchment Paper
1950s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass, Blown Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
1960s Unknown Vintage Modern Sculptures
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
1990s Modern Sculptures
Acrylic, Hardwood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Wire
1980s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Sculptures
Crystal, Multi-gemstone, Quartz, Rock Crystal, Other
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Stone, Metal
2010s Chinese Modern Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plexiglass, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Austrian Modern Sculptures
Parchment Paper
1980s Vintage Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Sculptures
Crystal, Multi-gemstone, Rock Crystal, Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Steel
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Sculptures
Crystal
2010s German Modern Sculptures
Concrete
1940s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s Polish Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Sculptures
Crystal, Quartz, Rock Crystal, Other
Mid-20th Century Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Stone
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Steel
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Porcelain, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Sculptures
Crystal, Quartz, Rock Crystal, Other
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wood, Paint
2010s Unknown Modern Sculptures
Bronze