Modern Games
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Games
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Crystal, Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Crystal, Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Crystal, Aluminum, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Crystal, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Crystal, Aluminum, Bronze, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Games
Chrome
2010s Australian Modern Games
Brass
2010s Australian Modern Games
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Australian Modern Games
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Games
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Games
Chrome, Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Games
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Games
Aluminum, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Games
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Games
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Ebony
2010s Italian Modern Games
Slate, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Ebony
2010s Italian Modern Games
Slate, Metal, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Games
Slate, Gold Plate, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Slate, Metal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Leather, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Crystal, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Crystal, Stainless Steel, Aluminum
19th Century Italian Antique Modern Games
Marble
1880s English Antique Modern Games
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Games
Hardwood, Maple, Oak, Walnut
1880s English Antique Modern Games
Leather, Hardwood, Boxwood
1970s European Vintage Modern Games
Ceramic, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Games
Brass
Late 20th Century European Modern Games
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Games
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Silver
2010s French Modern Games
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Games
Wood, Lacquer
2010s Italian Modern Games
Aluminum, Chrome