Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
Pisces Crackle Glaze Ceramic Sculpture by Stephanie Phillips
Located in Geneve, CH
Pisces Crackle Glaze Ceramic Sculpture by Stephanie Phillips Dimensions: D8 x W 27 x x H 30 cm Materials: Ceramic Also available in other colors and custom sizes from 20cm tall - 5...
Ceramic
Postmodern Hand Carved and Burnished Stone Egg and Holster Set, Memphis Inspired
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Carefully curated set of semi-precious stone and glass eggs in vibrant colors with corresponding Lucite platform bases for display. Set is comprised o...
Quartz, Alabaster, Granite, Marble
Mindscape 02 Medium Travertine Sculpture by Jeroen Broux
Located in Geneve, CH
Mindscape 02 Medium Travertine Sculpture by Jeroen Broux Dimensions: D 15 x W 15 x H 22,5 cm Materials: Travertine This modular sculpture, comprised of six individual stones, invite...
Travertine
Stoneware Clay, Unglazed Ceramic Ethereal Sculpture by Aleksandra Krasnopolska
Located in Geneve, CH
Stoneware Clay, Unglazed Ceramic Ethereal Sculpture by Aleksandra Krasnopolska Dimensions: W 25.5 x D 19 x H 35 cm Materials: Stoneware clay. Unglazed ceramic sulface. Weight: 5,6 k...
Ceramic, Clay, Stoneware
Leuca Sculpture in Horn, Lacquered Wood & Stainless Steel by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Leuca Sculpture in Horn, Lacquered Wood & Stainless Steel by Arcahorn Designed by Filippo Dini Dimensions: D 16 x W 16 x H 80/90 cm. Materials: Stainless steel, horn, and lacquered w...
Stainless Steel, Other
$11,489 / item
São Paulo 01 Totem by Gabriela Campos
Located in Geneve, CH
São Paulo 01 Totem by Gabriela Campos Dimensions: W 36 x D 36 x H 120 cm. Materials: American Oak, Freijó. ESTÚDIO MAIS ALMA moves toward the authentic and the unique, whether in ...
Oak
$1,683 / item
XXL Popcorn Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva
Located in Geneve, CH
XXL Popcorn Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva. Signed by Liliana Silva. Dimensions: W 47 x D 47 x H 55 cm. Materials: Ceramic. “XXL Popcorn” tak...
Ceramic
$1,012 / item
XL Popcorn Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva
Located in Geneve, CH
XL Popcorn Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva. Signed by Liliana Silva. Dimensions: W 39 x D 39 x H 44 cm. Materials: Ceramic. “XL Popcorn” ampli...
Ceramic
$12,302 / item
Incarnato 2 Sculpture by Camille De Prêtre
Located in Geneve, CH
Incarnato 2 Sculpture by Camille De Prêtre Dimensions: W 24 x D 24 x H 156 cm. Materials: Burned pine. About Camille De Prêtre is a Belgian artist and furniture designer based betw...
Wood
Bigger Sculptural Vase in Ceramic by Liliana Silva
Located in Geneve, CH
Bigger Sculptural Vase in Ceramic by Liliana Silva. Signed by Liliana Silva. Dimensions: W 33 x D 33 x H 55 cm. Materials: Ceramic. “Bigger” takes the concept of scale to the extrem...
Ceramic
$1,424 / item
Sun Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva
Located in Geneve, CH
Sun Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva. Signed by Liliana Silva. Dimensions: W 48 x D 48 x H 42 cm. Materials: Ceramic. “Sun” is a unique ceramic piece that captures the essence ...
Ceramic
Abbott Pattison Bronze Sculpture on Marble Base 'Signed'
Located in North Miami, FL
Bronze with slight green patina on original rectangular marble base. This abstract figural sculpture is extremely detailed. Mr. Pattison was educated at the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, Yale and the Yale School of Fine Arts. (B. 1916 - 1999) In 1939, he was granted Yale's first traveling fellowship, enabling him to study and work in China and Japan for 12 months. Mr. Pattison's many other prestigious prizes included the Logan, Eisendrath, and Pauline Palmer Awards from the Art Institute of Chicago. The Logan prize, awarded in 1942, was for a bronze titled "Kneeling Women." In 1951 Mr. Pattison placed first in the Metropolitan Museum's contemporary American sculpture show. Between 1940 and 1970 alone, Mr. Pattison had 10 one-man shows in Chicago. His work is on display in some of the world's most renowned museums, including the Art Institute; the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City; the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.; and the Israeli State Museum in Jerusalem. His public commissions include installations for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.; the U.S. State Department; Stanford University Medical Center; the Johnson Wax...
Marble, Bronze
Obliqua White Raku Clay Ceramic Sculpture by Stephanie Phillips
Located in Geneve, CH
Obliqua White Raku Clay Ceramic Sculpture by Stephanie Phillips Dimensions: D 12 x W 28 x x H 45 cm Materials: Ceramic, Raku Clay Also available in other colors and custom sizes fr...
Ceramic, Clay
Useless Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva
Located in Geneve, CH
Useless Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva. Signed by Liliana Silva. Dimensions: W 23 x D 23 x H 44 cm. Materials: Ceramic. “Useless” inspired by the “Dadaism” trend, challenges ...
Ceramic
Raw & Rainbow Gallo Sculpture in Powder-Coated Aluminum by altreforme
Located in Geneve, CH
Raw & Rainbow Gallo Sculpture in Powder-Coated Aluminum by altreforme Limited Edition Of 10 Pieces. Dimensions: Ø 67 x H 67 cm. Materials: Powder-coated aluminum. As a hymn to joy, ...
Aluminum
Postmodern Marble Sculpture Attributed to Renoir, Circa 1980s
By Maitland Smith, Marquis Collection of Beverly Hills 1, Renoir Designs
Located in Round Top, TX
Postmodern pink and black marble sculpture with a twisty, swirly presentation. Attributed to Renoir production, in the Philippines, this tessellated marble treasure seems to be a rar...
Marble
Coralina Abyss Sculptural Vessel in Ceramic by Julius Nobre
Located in Geneve, CH
Coralina Abyss Sculptural Vessel in Ceramic by Julius Nobre. Dimensions: W 20 x D 20 x H 30 cm. Materials: Ceramic. Abyss translates the silent gesture of the mushroom coral attach...
Ceramic
Mid-Century Brutalist Studio Pottery Art Sculpture, 1960s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Mid-Century Brutalist Studio Pottery Art Sculpture, 1960s, in Very Good conditions. Designed 1980 to 1989. Additional information: Materials: Ceramic Style: Postmodern Color: Beige ...
Ceramic
Postmodern Fred Garbotz Aluminum Figural Sculpture Memphis Era Signed
Located in W Allenhurst, NJ
Rare postmodern figural sculpture of a kissing couple. Brushed aluminum signed and dated. Great whimsical postmodern design with a slim profile. Figure reflects styling of Keith Haring.
Aluminum
Vintage Acrylic Fish Sculpture on Lucite Base, Circa 1980
Located in Fairfield, CA
A wonderful vintage sculpture of a fish. Made of acrylic with great realistic detailing. Mounteed with wires on a rectangular lucite base. Measures 10"W x 3"D x 5.5"H
Acrylic
Murano Orange with Black incluisions Handblown Flower
By Murano 5
Located in Pasadena, TX
This flower is handblown. It was crafted in Murano, Italy. It has a beautiful orange with black color. Makes for a great gift.
Art Glass
Sculpture Centerpiece in Jurassic Fossil Stone by NERINEA
Located in Geneve, CH
Sculpture Centerpiece in Jurassic Fossil Stone by NERINEA. Dimensions: W 50 x D 15 x H 15 cm. Materials: Natural Stone (Jurassic Fossil TOP). Designed by Paco Camús. The Sculpture C...
Stone
Bomb by Clive Barker 4/8 1998
By Clive Barker
Located in Oxford, GB
Clive Barker, British, b 1940 is a British Pop Artist. The bomb is one of my favourite pieces he has done. Its witty as if taken from a Popeye cartoon yet shiny and beautiful refle...
Aluminum, Brass
Ray White Raku Clay Ceramic Sculpture by Stephanie Phillips
Located in Geneve, CH
Ray White Raku Clay Ceramic Sculpture by Stephanie Phillips Dimensions: D 11 x W 35 x x H 40 cm Materials: Ceramic, Raku Clay Also available in other colors and custom sizes from 2...
Ceramic, Clay
Contemporary Abstract Bronze Sculpture by Bertrand Créach
Located in London, GB
" Famille I " Bronze sculpture by Bertrand Creach, 2021. Limited edition 1/8, hand-crafted adorned in a black patina. ______ Dimension: H 35 x 15.5 x ...
Bronze
Popcorn Jug Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva
Located in Geneve, CH
Popcorn Jug Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva. Signed by Liliana Silva. Dimensions: W 24 x D 24 x H 28 cm. Materials: Ceramic. The “Popcorn Jug” from the Popcorn series captures...
Ceramic
20th Century Abstract Modernist Stone Sculpture of Three Faces in Profile
Located in New York, NY
Elegant contemporary art sculpture in an Art Deco revival style, signed by artist C. Marinse. Carved from beautiful green stone, three sensual faces with eyes closed are shown profil...
Stone
Contemporary Art Pouf - Kenzo Hand by Carla Tolomeo
Located in Pistoia, IT
Sculpture. Unique piece hand made by the artist. Kenzo silk velvet Exclusive for the author and Pontoglio velvets - Trimmings Cylindrical base design Gabriel for tolomeo
Silk
Italian Glazed Ceramic Banana Sculpture (After Warhol) (After Maurizio Cattelan)
By (after) Andy Warhol, Maurizio Cattelan
Located in Round Top, TX
From the early 20th century, and before, the imagery of the humble banana has always captured our interest and attention. From Claes Oldenburg to Any Warhol and more recently, Mauriz...
Ceramic
PF01 Handmade Sculptural Bust On Wood Plinth by Object Atelier
Located in Geneve, CH
PF01 Handmade Sculptural Bust On Wood Plinth by Object Atelier One Of a Kind. Dimensions: D 20 x 20 x H 42 cm (Dimensions may vary). Materials: Natural fibers, aggregates, pigments, ...
Natural Fiber, Wood
$11,654 / item
Organic Form White Stoneware Tamala Sculpture by Munier
Located in Geneve, CH
Stoneware Tamala Sculpture by Munier Dimensions: W 35 x D 35 x H 35 cm. Materials: Stoneware. Weight: 3 kg. I specialize in the ancient technique of coil building, a traditional han...
Ceramic
Fragment Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva
Located in Geneve, CH
Fragment Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva. Signed by Liliana Silva. Dimensions: W 24 x D 24 x H 32 cm. Materials: Ceramic. This piece is available in a wide range of hand-paint...
Ceramic
Pop art "Risk" pink ceramic tank figure, Stefano Puzzo Italy ca. 2000s
Located in Firenze, IT
Pop art Risk pink ceramic tank figure Stefano Puzzo Italy ca. 2000s Signed under the base H 11.5 cm - 26.5 × 11 cm Conditions: excellent, no defects
Ceramic
$423 / item
Minty Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva
Located in Geneve, CH
Minty Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva. Signed by Liliana Silva. Dimensions: W 24 x D 24 x H 29 cm. Materials: Ceramic. This piece is available in a wide range of hand-painted ...
Ceramic
Small Brass Mar de Cobre Wall Sculpture by Aura Carpio
Located in Geneve, CH
Small Brass Mar de Cobre Wall Sculpture by Aura Carpio Dimensions: D 40 x H 4 cm. Materials: Copper, Brass. Weight: 3 Kg. Aura Carpio® (CDMX). Mexican industrial designer graduated ...
Copper, Brass
Prime Walnut, Any Leather Handles Only by Eternal Creek
Located in Geneve, CH
Prime Walnut, Any Leather Handles Only by Eternal Creek Dimensions: D 3 x H 13 cm Materials: Wood: Prime Walnut / Black Ash / Light Ash Leather: Shadow Black / Saddle Brown / London...
Wood, Leather
Silver Geometric Aluminum Brass Modular Totem Mirror By Studio Sol Leccia
Located in Geneve, CH
TOOOTEM Miroir Totem by STUDIO SOL LECCIA Dimensions: D 5 x H 205 cm Materials: Mirror, Aluminum and Brass. TOOOTEM's were born from the desire to create nomadic work, both strong ...
Aluminum, Brass
$14,373 / item
Genesis Bronze Sculpture by Kodai Suga
Located in Geneve, CH
Genesis Bronze Sculpture by Kodai Suga Dimensions: W 50 x D 30 x H 45 cm Materials: Bronze Kodai Suga’s work features an evocative modernistic silhouette that has been imbued with d...
Bronze, Other
Artifacts of Disharmony Clear Buoy Sculpture by Tero Kuitunen
Located in Geneve, CH
Artifacts of Disharmony Clear Buoy sculpture by Tero Kuitunen Material: Hand sculpted glass and ceramic. Dimensions: D48 x W 20 x H10cm Unique piec...
Ceramic, Glass
PF03 Handmade Sculptural Bust On Wood Plinth by Object Atelier
Located in Geneve, CH
PF03 Handmade Sculptural Bust On Wood Plinth by Object Atelier One Of a Kind. Dimensions: D 20 x 20 x H 42 cm (Dimensions may vary). Materials: Natural fibers, aggregates, pigments, ...
Natural Fiber, Wood
'Scorpion Teapot' Ceramic Teapot by Peter Shire, 1982
By Peter Shire
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Large Vintage Glazed Earthenware Teapot by Peter Shire, 1982. Earthenware and Enameled Metal construction, Hand-Built. Approx: 15 1/2" high x 12" wide x 25" long Peter Shire: ...
Metal
Duramen Stainless Steel Top and Solid Walnut Sculptural Object by Jules Lobgeois
Located in Geneve, CH
Duramen Stainless Steel Top and Solid Walnut Sculptural Object by Jules Lobgeois Unique Piece Dimensions: D 56 x H 38 cm. Materials: Solid walnut, stainless steel. The heartwood is ...
Stainless Steel
Teocalli Sculptural Monolith in Basalt Granite & Steel by Andres Monnier
Located in Geneve, CH
Teocalli Sculptural Monolith in Basalt Granite & Steel by Andres Monnier Unique Piece Dimensions: D 220 x W 90 x H 280 cm. Materials: Steel and basalt granite. Available in differen...
Other, Steel
$10,489 / item
Vanguard 02-1 Bronze Sculpture by Kodai Suga
Located in Geneve, CH
Vanguard 02-1 Bronze Sculpture by Kodai Suga Dimensions: W 50 x D 7.5 x H 40 cm Materials: Bronze Kodai Suga’s work features an evocative modernistic silhouette that has been imbued...
Bronze, Other
$10,489 / item
Regeneration 01 Bronze Sculpture by Kodai Suga
Located in Geneve, CH
Regeneration 01 Bronze Sculpture by Kodai Suga Dimensions: W 50 x D 9 x H 45 cm Materials: Bronze Kodai Suga’s work features an evocative modernistic silhouette that has been imbued...
Bronze, Other
Afrodita Sculpture Object in Jurassic Fossil Stone by NERINEA
Located in Geneve, CH
Afrodita Sculpture Object in Jurassic Fossil Stone by NERINEA. Dimensions: W 14 x D 14 x H 39 cm. Materials: Natural Stone (Jurassic Fossil TOP). Designed by Fran Silvestre Arquitect...
Stone
$14,373 / item
Perseus Bronze Sculpture by Kodai Suga
Located in Geneve, CH
Perseus Bronze Sculpture by Kodai Suga Dimensions: W 50 x D 30 x H 30 cm Materials: Bronze Kodai Suga’s work features an evocative modernistic silhouette that has been imbued with d...
Bronze, Other
Kiyomi Iwata (b.1941) 'Gauze Box' Abstract Sculpture C. 1990s
Located in Norwalk, CT
Presenting "Gauze Box," an intriguing and meticulously crafted abstract sculpture by the acclaimed Japanese-American artist Kiyomi Iwata (b. 1941). This piece, created during the 199...
Textile, Silk
Small Origins Mar de Cobre Wall Sculpture by Aura Carpio
Located in Geneve, CH
Small Origins Mar de Cobre Wall Sculpture by Aura Carpio Dimensions: D 40 x H 4 cm. Materials: Copper. Weight: 3 Kg. Aura Carpio® (CDMX). Mexican industrial designer graduated and ...
Copper
Resin and Steel Sawfish Shaped Sculpture
By Viktor Mtz 1
Located in Mexico City, MX
An unusual dark resin sculpture in the shape of a sawfish rostrum by Mexican artist Viktor Martínez. The piece is mounted on an Industrial style steel ...
Steel
Steel Iron Altar Abstract Sculpture by Splady Art Studios
Located in Geneve, CH
Steel Iron Altar Abstract Sculpture by Splady Art Studios Design by Charles Splady Dimensions: W 46 x D 38 x H 208 cm. Materials: Steel. Iron Altar is a free-standing abstract sculp...
Steel
Jomon Contemporary Fertility Vessel 2 by Noe Kuremoto
Located in Geneve, CH
Jomon Contemporary Fertility Vessel 2 by Noe Kuremoto Materials: White stoneware Dimensions: D 40-55 x W 40-55 x H 45-55 cm I want my pot to remember what we forgot. We’ll never t...
Stoneware
$6,604 / item
Sculptural Object by Dongwook Choi
Located in Geneve, CH
Sculptural Object by Dongwook Choi Crest and Trough series Dimensions: 42 x 40 x 45 cm Materials: FRP, chrome coated There may be a visual difference...
Chrome
Sir Lancelot Elk Head Wall Mount Sculpture by The Peak Antler
Located in Geneve, CH
Sir Lancelot Elk Head Wall Mount Sculpture by The Peak Antler Dimensions: W 121.92 x D 132.08 x H 182.88 cm Materials: naturally shed antlers Based in, produced and shipped from the...
Antler
$2,380Sale Price|20% Off
1990s Modern Marquis Collection Of Beverly Hill Tessellated Stone Sculpture
By Marquis Collection of Beverly Hills 1
Located in Stafford, TX
Beautiful sculpture of 2 lovers made of tessellated stone! Great overall condition as seen!
Stone
$33,350 / item
Horizon Sculpture by The GoodMan Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Horizon Sculpture by The GoodMan Studio Dimensions: W 153 x D 41 x H 153 cm Materials: Glass Made to order. Hanging installatiom Customizable in an...
Glass
Jomon Contemporary Fertility Vessel 10 by Noe Kuremoto
Located in Geneve, CH
Jomon Contemporary Fertility Vessel 10 by Noe Kuremoto Materials: Milk, Clay, and Ashes Dimensions: D 28 x W 28 x H 44 cm I’m a middle-aged woman who had babies late—too late, some...
Stoneware, Clay, Ash
$2,589 / item
Bonnie Tribu M40.22 Sculpture by Léontine Furcy
Located in Geneve, CH
Bonnie Tribu M40.22 Sculpture by Léontine Furcy. Unique piece. Materials: Raw white sandstone. Dimensions: D 3 x W 40.5 x H 38 cm. Léontine Furcy, ceramic artist, tells about hersel...
Sandstone
Popcorn Jar Down Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva
Located in Geneve, CH
Popcorn Jar Down Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva. Signed by Liliana Silva. Dimensions: W 26 x D 26 x H 37 cm. Materials: Ceramic. This piece is available in a wide range of ha...
Ceramic
Popcorn Jar Up Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva
Located in Geneve, CH
Popcorn Jar Up Sculpture in Ceramic by Liliana Silva. Signed by Liliana Silva. Dimensions: W 23 x D 23 x H 37 cm. Materials: Ceramic. This piece is available in a wide range of hand...
Ceramic