Modern Contemporary Art
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Contemporary Art
Marble, Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Faience, Wood
2010s British Modern Contemporary Art
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Contemporary Art
Other
2010s German Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Contemporary Art
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Contemporary Art
Giltwood, Paint
2010s Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
2010s Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Acrylic, Fiberglass
20th Century Swedish Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Marble, Aluminum, Platinum, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Resin
20th Century Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century French Modern Contemporary Art
Mid-20th Century French Modern Contemporary Art
Resin, Acrylic, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Murano Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Art Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Glass
2010s European Modern Contemporary Art
Resin, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Clay, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
1970s French Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Glass
2010s Dutch Modern Contemporary Art
Metal, Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Cotton, Acrylic, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Ebony, Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
1950s French Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Scagliola, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Resin, Scagliola
1980s English Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Mirror, Acrylic, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum, Platinum
1960s French Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Resin, Scagliola
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum, Platinum, Gold Leaf
2010s Finnish Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Wood