Modern Furniture
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Stone, Iron
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Stone
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood, Paper
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Crystal
Late 19th Century Japanese Antique Modern Furniture
Bronze
Early 20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Bamboo
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
Early 2000s Japanese Modern Furniture
Bamboo
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Ash
1930s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Pottery
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Stone, Iron
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Paper, Wood
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Stone
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
Early 2000s Japanese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Rosewood, Teak
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Stone
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
Early 2000s Japanese Modern Furniture
Bamboo
1990s Japanese Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Furniture
Oak
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Furniture
Ash
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Furniture
Leather, Birch
20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Furniture
Metal
1990s Japanese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Cut Steel
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Pottery
Mid-20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Porcelain
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Stone, Iron
Early 20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Bamboo
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Brass
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Canvas
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood, Paper
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Linen
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Wire
1990s Japanese Modern Furniture
Granite, Bronze
20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood, Paper
1990s Japanese Modern Furniture
Paper
Early 2000s Japanese Modern Furniture
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Porcelain
1960s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Wire
20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Stoneware
1990s Japanese Modern Furniture
Wood, Paper
20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Linen





