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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Acrylic
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
Late 20th Century Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Danish Modern Sculptures
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Wool
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Japanese Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Jute, Plaster, Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Hardwood, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Danish Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Steel
Early 2000s Polish Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Bakelite
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Wood
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Marble, Rock Crystal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal, Enamel
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Malachite, Silver
19th Century French Antique Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Onyx
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
Late 20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Marble, Brass, Bronze
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
Late 20th Century Austrian Modern Sculptures
Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Crystal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Marble
20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Lucite
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Brass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Composition, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Statuary Marble
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Bronze, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Austrian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
1990s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
Late 20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
Early 20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1950s Japanese Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass





