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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 European Modern Sculptures
Marble, Steel
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Nickel, Enamel
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Composition
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass, Glass
1930s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Wool
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Lucite
1990s French Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
1980s Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
Mid-20th Century Modern Sculptures
Leather
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Asian Modern Sculptures
Malachite, Rock Crystal
Early 20th Century Israeli Modern Sculptures
Abalone, Mother-of-Pearl, Olive
1940s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Colombian Modern Sculptures
Other
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Composition, Metal
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Crystal
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century English Modern Sculptures
Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Resin
20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Other
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sculptures
Fur, Leather, Wool, Glass, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Other
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Steel
Late 20th Century Colombian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Austrian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Wood, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Marble, Carrara Marble
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble







