Modern Mobiles and Kinetic 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 20th Century French Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Wood
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Wood, Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Hardwood, Walnut
20th Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Serpentine, Bronze
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Art Glass
Late 20th Century French Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Metal
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
1960s Vintage Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum, Chrome
2010s South Korean Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Plastic
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Alabaster, Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Alabaster, Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Crystal, Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass, Bronze, Nickel
Late 20th Century American Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Wood
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Pyrite, Multi-gemstone, Lapis Lazuli, Silver, Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass, Nickel
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Aluminum, Nickel, Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass, Bronze, Nickel
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass, Bronze, Nickel
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Crystal, Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass, Nickel, Steel
Early 2000s French Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Cement
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Natural Fiber, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Aluminum, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Scandinavian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass