Modern Folk Art
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Chrome
1990s French Modern Folk Art
Plastic
2010s French Modern Folk Art
Metal
2010s Swedish Modern Folk Art
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Fabric, Cotton
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Brass
1980s English Vintage Modern Folk Art
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Brass
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Folk Art
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Canvas
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
1990s Modern Folk Art
Maple
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
1960s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Wood
Early 2000s Danish Modern Folk Art
Acrylic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
1940s Belgian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Metal
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Wood
1950s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Metal
1890s American Antique Modern Folk Art
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Wood
Early 2000s Australian Modern Folk Art
Linen, Acrylic, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery, Stoneware
Mid-20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Paper
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Folk Art
Resin
Early 2000s Indonesian Modern Folk Art
Stone, Metal
1940s African Vintage Modern Folk Art
Wood
Early 2000s Indonesian Modern Folk Art
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Wood
Mid-20th Century French Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Jute
Late 20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Canvas
2010s Indonesian Modern Folk Art
Wool, Acrylic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Walnut
1990s American Modern Folk Art
Paper
18th Century and Earlier American Antique Modern Folk Art
Sheet Metal
1960s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Paper
Mid-20th Century British Modern Folk Art
Granite
2010s Indonesian Modern Folk Art
Wool, Acrylic
1970s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Folk Art
Alabaster
1960s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Epoxy Resin
1980s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Aluminum
1970s Scottish Vintage Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Folk Art
Bronze
2010s Asian Modern Folk Art
Wool, Acrylic
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Metal