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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Sculptures
Brass
Early 2000s French Modern Sculptures
Stone
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Alabaster, Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
1920s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Earthenware
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
Early 20th Century Swedish Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s African Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Rose Quartz
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Sandstone
1990s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Chinese Modern Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Wire, Stainless Steel, Bronze, Brass
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Stone
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Earthenware
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Alabaster
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Sandstone
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Acrylic, Paint
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut, Maple
2010s Chinese Modern Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1950s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Chinese Modern Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum
1990s French Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Rose Quartz
1970s Australian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Silver
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Marble
1970s Irish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Brass
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s French Modern Sculptures
Crystal
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Walnut
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Cement
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Wire
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Plaster, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Silver
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass