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Contemporary Art

Loosely defined as the art of today or the art of our lifetime, the term “contemporary art” is usually used more specifically to describe artworks created since the 1980s or 1990s. For collection purposes, the Frye Art Museum currently delineates the scope as 1990 to the present. In the more general sense, the Frye has collected and exhibited contemporary—or contemporaneous—art since its opening in 1952. This commitment to the art and culture of the present was catalyzed by Museum founders Charles and Emma Frye, who amassed a collection of paintings made within their own lifetimes and often purchased works directly from living artists. Over the last seven decades, directors of the Museum have each brought their own interests and interpretations to bear on the Frye’s engagement with contemporary art and thereby shaped a distinctive collection. Prior to the tenure of Elsa “Midge” Bowman (Director, 2004–09), and often counter to dominant trends in art of the time, the Frye’s leadership focused exclusively on exhibiting and collecting representational art, citing Charles and Emma Frye’s preferences for figurative and landscape painting. Under Bowman’s direction, the exhibitions program at the Frye expanded into areas like video art and performance that questioned and upended the definition of representational art. In 2008, the Museum’s mission was revised to embrace art in its myriad forms. The Frye’s contemporary art collection has grown significantly since that time, reflecting the diversity of the institution’s engagement with local, national, and international artists working today.

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Title Artist Medium Date
Becoming Mineral   Tossin, Clarissa   Porcelain   2021 
Rising Temperature Casualty (Prunus persica, home garden, Los Angeles)   Tossin, Clarissa   Silicone, black pigment, tree bark  2022 
Trap   Linklater, Duane   Powder-coated trap, mirror, gypsum board, plywood, steel wall studs  2016 
Dress for Success   Nestler, Rose   Leather, thread, batting, grommets, hooks   2018 
Chemically Tanned   Bremner, Alison   Latex paint on deer hide with horsehair  2017 
Eidolon   Bruch, Cris   Aluminum composite  2015 
Emollients: Ingram's, Marinello's, Purola, Velvatone   Bruch, Cris   Blown glass  2016 
Untitled   Calderon, Mark   Book spine repair tape  2012 
Not Waving, but Drowning   Mitchell, Jeffry   Glazed earthenware on artist-made wood pedestal  2012 
Tradition as Adaptive Strategy   Browning, Matt   Tree sap and carved wood  2010 
Ode to Octavia: Cranium Adornment #5   The Black Constellation   Composited bone, enamel, found goggles  2012 
Ode to Octavia: Neo-Ancient Taliswoman   The Black Constellation   Incantation, repurposed bronze, brass, silver, stainless steel, rosewood, beechnut, abalone shell, ibex and dik-dik horn, precious and semiprecious stones, 1996 GMC truck key  2012 
Untitled (Nail Harp)   Degenerate Art Ensemble   Steel, wood, guitar strings, nails  2005 
Chest Harp 2   Degenerate Art Ensemble   Steel, guitar strings  2006 
Chest Harp 1   Degenerate Art Ensemble   Steel, guitar strings  2006 
Panthrastic Harp Zither   Degenerate Art Ensemble   Steel, wood, harp strings, antique instrument parts  2005 
Deerlegs   Degenerate Art Ensemble   Wood, steel, rubber, PVC pipe, cable, microphone, transmitter  2007 
The Dorothy K: Small Ether Machine   Implied Violence   Wood, cloth, felt, glass, metal, plastic, twine  2010 
The Dorothy K: Bow Dress   Implied Violence   Silk, satin, lace, steel ring, and cable  2010 


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