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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s French Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
Late 20th Century French Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Wood, Paint
2010s Chinese Modern Contemporary Art
Wood, Paper
20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Contemporary Art
Marble
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Fabric, Art Glass, Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Emirian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 2000s Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Other
1980s German Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paint, Paper
1970s German Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Contemporary Art
Plexiglass
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Paint
Early 2000s American Modern Contemporary Art
Wood, Paper
Early 2000s American Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
Late 20th Century French Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Resin, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Emirian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Wood, Giltwood, Paint
Late 20th Century Modern Contemporary Art
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Masonite
1990s French Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Paint
Early 2000s American Modern Contemporary Art
Plastic, Acrylic
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Emirian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Contemporary Art
Marble
Mid-20th Century Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Paint, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Congolese Modern Contemporary Art
Raffia
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Glass, Mirror, Wood
Late 20th Century French Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Wood, Paint
Early 2000s French Modern Contemporary Art
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Marble, Onyx, Carrara Marble, Gold Leaf, Brass
Early 2000s Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Emirian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Argentine Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Wood
20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
Late 20th Century French Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Wood, Paint
Early 2000s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Paint
20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Wood, Paint
Late 20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s German Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Paint, Paper
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Paint
1990s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Paint
1980s German Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Crystal