Modern Chairs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Wood, Leather
2010s American Modern Chairs
Wood, Ash
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Dutch Modern Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Chairs
Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Velvet
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Colombian Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Austrian Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Chairs
Wood, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Leather, Ash
2010s European Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Oak
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Teak, Cane, Fabric, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s European Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Chairs
Faux Leather, Lucite
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Textile
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé
Mid-20th Century French Modern Chairs
Straw, Pine
2010s American Modern Chairs
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Philippine Modern Chairs
Steel, Stainless Steel
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Chairs
Wood, Lacquer
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Foam
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Foam
2010s Turkish Modern Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Resin
Late 20th Century North American Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Brass, Steel
2010s European Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood, Rope
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Canadian Modern Chairs
Leather, Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Metal