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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Glass, Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Paint
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Chinese Modern Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Hardwood, Mahogany, Maple, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Oak, Walnut, Maple, Hardwood
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Resin
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Stoneware, Rope
2010s British Modern Sculptures
Metal, Steel, Iron
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Foam, Resin, Plaster, Paint, Wood
2010s Belgian Modern Sculptures
Agate, Brass
1980s English Vintage Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
1990s French Modern Sculptures
Enamel
2010s French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Dominican Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Glass
2010s Dominican Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Glass
2010s Dominican Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Plaster, Jute, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Dominican Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Acrylic
20th Century North American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century North American Modern Sculptures
Bronze