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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Folk Art
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Folk Art
Wool
2010s French Modern Folk Art
Sandstone
1980s English Vintage Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
Mid-20th Century Mexican Modern Folk Art
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Folk Art
Iron
1960s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Folk Art
Wool
1920s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Textile
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Canvas, Wood
2010s French Modern Folk Art
Sandstone
Late 20th Century Dutch Modern Folk Art
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
2010s American Modern Folk Art
Canvas
Late 20th Century Zimbabwean Modern Folk Art
Stone
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indonesian Modern Folk Art
Wool, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Indonesian Modern Folk Art
Wool, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Epoxy Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Glass, Walnut
1980s Scandinavian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Metal, Copper
2010s Mexican Modern Folk Art
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
2010s French Modern Folk Art
Canvas, Wood, Paint
Late 20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Blown Glass
2010s French Modern Folk Art
Silk, Wood
1960s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Wood
2010s French Modern Folk Art
Silk, Wood
2010s French Modern Folk Art
Sandstone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Mirror
1980s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
1990s French Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Folk Art
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Textile
1970s English Vintage Modern Folk Art
Pottery
20th Century British Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
2010s American Modern Folk Art
Birch, Maple
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Maple, Wood
Late 20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Pottery
Early 2000s English Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Folk Art
Earthenware, Pottery
20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
2010s Portuguese Modern Folk Art
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Folk Art
Foil
2010s Mexican Modern Folk Art
Resin, Wood
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
1950s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Canvas, Paint
2010s French Modern Folk Art
Sandstone
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool