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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century Indian Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Concrete, Other
20th Century North American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Mirror, Acrylic, Fiberglass
1970s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
1990s Modern Contemporary Art
Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Glass, Wood, Mirror
20th Century Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Australian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
20th Century North American Modern Contemporary Art
Linen, Natural Fiber, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Stoneware
1970s English Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Contemporary Art
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
Early 2000s Cuban Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Marble
2010s Finnish Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Australian Modern Contemporary Art
Glass, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Contemporary Art
Marble
20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Marble
1970s French Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
20th Century Mexican Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
20th Century Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic
1990s American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
20th Century French Modern Contemporary Art
Paint
2010s Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Paint
1990s American Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Canvas, Acrylic, Paper, Crayon
1970s French Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Contemporary Art
Metal, Steel, Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Other
Late 20th Century French Modern Contemporary Art
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper, Plexiglass
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
1970s British Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Contemporary Art
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Marble
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Paint, Acrylic
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1980s French Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
2010s Mexican Modern Contemporary Art
Other
20th Century Australian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
Late 20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
20th Century Australian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
1990s American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Clay, Organic Material
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Muslin, Silk, Bamboo
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Marble
2010s Australian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Marble
1990s Brazilian Modern Contemporary Art
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum