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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century British Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
20th Century British Modern Folk Art
Porcelain
1990s English Modern Folk Art
Pottery
20th Century Scottish Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
1970s English Vintage Modern Folk Art
Porcelain
20th Century British Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
Late 20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Terracotta
20th Century Australian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Wood
20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Pottery
2010s Mexican Modern Folk Art
Resin, Wood
20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Pottery
2010s Mexican Modern Folk Art
Resin, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Folk Art
Metal, Tin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Mirror
2010s Danish Modern Folk Art
Canvas
Late 20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
Late 20th Century British Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
1980s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Folk Art
Iron
2010s Mexican Modern Folk Art
Resin, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
1950s Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Porcelain
1980s Congolese Vintage Modern Folk Art
Silver Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Pottery
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Wood
20th Century Chinese Modern Folk Art
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Folk Art
Resin
20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Folk Art
Hardwood, Maple, Oak, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Brass
1970s English Vintage Modern Folk Art
Pottery
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Brass
Early 2000s English Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
2010s Indonesian Modern Folk Art
Wool
Late 20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Pottery
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
2010s Indonesian Modern Folk Art
Wool
Late 20th Century British Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Folk Art
Cut Steel
Early 2000s English Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
2010s Mexican Modern Folk Art
Resin
20th Century Japanese Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
1950s German Vintage Modern Folk Art
Metal
Early 2000s American Modern Folk Art
Ceramic, Wood
1960s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
2010s Mexican Modern Folk Art
Resin
20th Century British Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century French Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
20th Century British Modern Folk Art
Stoneware