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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Balkan Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Acrylic, Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Acrylic, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Linen
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Contemporary Art
Wood, Paint
2010s Indonesian Modern Contemporary Art
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Wood
2010s Dutch Modern Contemporary Art
Brass
Early 2000s American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
20th Century Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Sycamore, Paper
2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
Early 2000s English Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
Early 2000s American Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Paint
20th Century Belgian Modern Contemporary Art
Masonite, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Silver, Brass, Metal, Sheet Metal, Sterling Silver
1970s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Steel
1980s Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Yarn, Rope
1960s Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Iron
1980s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Belgian Modern Contemporary Art
Glass
2010s Finnish Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Wood, Paint, Paper
Early 2000s American Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic
1960s French Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Contemporary Art
Foil
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Glass
20th Century North American Modern Contemporary Art
Glass, Plastic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
2010s Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Faience, Wood
20th Century Belgian Modern Contemporary Art
Paint, Masonite
2010s Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paint, Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
1970s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Glass, Wood, Paper
Late 20th Century British Modern Contemporary Art
Papercord, Paper
2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Paint
2010s German Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Plywood, Paint
2010s German Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Wood, Plywood
1990s Australian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Paint
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
1990s American Modern Contemporary Art
Wood, Paper
1980s Venezuelan Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Paint
1960s French Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Concrete, Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Platinum, Gold Leaf