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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 French Modern Chairs
Antler, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Finnish Modern Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Wood, Leather, Mohair, Linen, Velvet
Mid-20th Century German Modern Chairs
Metal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Metal, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Wood, Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Textile
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Hardwood, Walnut
Early 20th Century Modern Chairs
Enamel, Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Wood, Lacquer
2010s French Modern Chairs
Antler, Elm
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Chairs
Rattan
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Foam, Wood, Plywood
1920s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Marble, Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Chairs
Wicker, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Foam, Walnut
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Fabric
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Hardwood, Walnut
1960s American Vintage Modern Chairs
Chrome
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Velvet
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé, Faux Fur
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Fabric, Lacquer, Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
1920s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal, Iron
2010s American Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Canadian Modern Chairs
Ash
2010s Belgian Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Wood, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Fur, Faux Fur, Ash
2010s American Modern Chairs
Resin, Foam
1990s French Modern Chairs
Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Wood, Textile
2010s American Modern Chairs
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Foam, Walnut
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Jacquard, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Finnish Modern Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel