Modern Sculptures
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Belgian Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Stone
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Glass
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Resin
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Copper, Steel
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Plexiglass, Wood, Paint
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Concrete
1980s European Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plywood
1960s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Resin, Lucite
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Acrylic, Wood
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Marble
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Swedish Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
1980s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Earthenware
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass, Murrine, Murano Glass
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Marble
Early 2000s Japanese Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Lucite
20th Century Belgian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Glass
Late 20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
1980s Vintage Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Wood
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Hardwood, Maple, Oak, Walnut
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Crystal
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Iron
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
1990s German Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1940s Danish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Lucite





