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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Danish Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Leather, Faux Leather, Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Hardwood, Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Laminate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Finnish Modern Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Textile, Foam, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Metal, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Chairs
Marble
2010s Moroccan Modern Chairs
Fabric
2010s Finnish Modern Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Textile, Hardwood
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Steel, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Leather, Ash
1980s Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Chairs
Oak
1960s Mexican Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
20th Century Modern Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Chairs
Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Foam, Wood, Plywood
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Finnish Modern Chairs
Fiberglass
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Chairs
Steel
1980s European Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Chairs
Wood, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Jacquard, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Ash
2010s American Modern Chairs
Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Leather, Walnut
2010s Dutch Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Walnut
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Mohair, Bouclé, Felt, Cotton, Velvet, Acrylic, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Walnut
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Cane
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Laminate, Hardwood
2010s Finnish Modern Chairs
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s Finnish Modern Chairs
Fiberglass, Leather
2010s French Modern Chairs
Antler, Plywood
2010s British Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
2010s Moroccan Modern Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Foam, Walnut
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Hardwood, Walnut