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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s American Modern Chairs
Steel, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Indonesian Modern Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Wood, Faux Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
2010s Chinese Modern Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s Danish Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Lebanese Modern Chairs
Concrete
2010s Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Leather
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Nutwood
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Wood
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Chairs
Oak, Fabric
2010s French Modern Chairs
Antler, Plywood
20th Century Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Chairs
Fabric
2010s Turkish Modern Chairs
Iron
2010s Turkish Modern Chairs
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Laminate, Hardwood, Leather, Textile, Upholstery
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Hardwood, Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Laminate
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Hardwood
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Cane, Upholstery, Textile, Wood, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Sapele Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s French Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Ash
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Upholstery
2010s Danish Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Argentine Modern Chairs
Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Chairs
Chrome
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s North American Modern Chairs
Mohair, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Beech
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Textile, Wood, Plywood
2010s Danish Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Chairs
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Cherry
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Wood