Frye Art Museum - Contemporary Art

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.

Image of this trembling turf (the shallows)

this trembling turf (the shallows)

Mary Ann Peters
White ink
2018

Image of Snowflake Drawing #5 (Double Lotus Pod)

Snowflake Drawing #5 (Double Lotus Pod)

Jeffry Mitchell
Graphite, ink, carbon transfer, and watercolor on paper
2018

Image of From Sea to Dawn

From Sea to Dawn

Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, Hesam Rahmanian
Digital video (color, silent); 6:21 min.
2016

Image of If Marco Polo Brought the Pasta Meme to Europe from China, He didn't Need to be a Pasta Chef but all he Had to do was to Disperse the Meme in the Environment and Other Humans Infected by it, Would Express it in their Behaviour

If Marco Polo Brought the Pasta Meme to Europe from China, He didn't Need to be a Pasta Chef but all he Had to do was to Disperse the Meme in the Environment and Other Humans Infected by it, Would Express it in their Behaviour

Rokni Haerizadeh
Gesso, watercolor and ink on printed paper
2017-18

Image of Birmingham (right)

Birmingham (right)

Toyin Ojih Odutola
Four-color lithograph with gold leaf
2014

Image of Birmingham (center)

Birmingham (center)

Toyin Ojih Odutola
Four-color lithograph with gold leaf
2014

Image of Birmingham (left)

Birmingham (left)

Toyin Ojih Odutola
Four-color lithograph with gold leaf
2014

Image of Du jaroj da seksa perforto kontrau virinaj Egiptaj manifestaciantoj, kaj jam ni portas trancilojn en la stratoj...

Du jaroj da seksa perforto kontrau virinaj Egiptaj manifestaciantoj, kaj jam ni portas trancilojn en la stratoj...

Ellen Lesperance
Gouache and graphite on tea-stained paper
2014

Image of Adam and Eve Dressed

Adam and Eve Dressed

Janette K. Hopper
Linocut
1996

Image of Chemically Tanned

Chemically Tanned

Alison Bremner
Latex paint on deer hide with horsehair
2017

Image of Bamboo No.26

Bamboo No.26

Nancy Mee
Letterpress and print
1994

Image of Bamboo No.25

Bamboo No.25

Carolyn Law
Letterpress and lithograph
1994

Image of Bamboo No.24

Bamboo No.24

Gayle Bard
Letterpress and lithograph
1994

Image of Bamboo No.23

Bamboo No.23

George Tsutakawa
Letterpress and Sumi ink
1994

Image of Bamboo No.22

Bamboo No.22

Karen Guzak
Letterpress and print
1994

Image of Bamboo No.21

Bamboo No.21

Michael Spafford
Letterpress and woodcut
1994

Image of Bamboo No.20

Bamboo No.20

Fay Jones
Letterpress and lithograph
1994

Image of Bamboo No.19

Bamboo No.19

Rebecca Struck
Letterpress and print
1994

Image of Bamboo No.18

Bamboo No.18

Barbara Noah
Letterpress and print
1994

Image of Bamboo No.17

Bamboo No.17

Lockwood Dennis
Letterpress and woodcut
1994

Image of Bamboo No.16

Bamboo No.16

Julie Paschkis
Letterpress and linocut
1994

Image of Bamboo No.15

Bamboo No.15

George Chacona
Letterpress and print
1994

Image of Bamboo No.14

Bamboo No.14

Robert Kraftt
Letterpress and print
1994

Image of Bamboo No.13

Bamboo No.13

Jose Rodriguez Guerra
Letterpress and lithograph
1994

Image of Bamboo No.12

Bamboo No.12

C.T. Chew
Letterpress and print
1994

Image of Bamboo No.11

Bamboo No.11

Mauricio Robalino
Letterpress and print
1994

Image of Bamboo No.10

Bamboo No.10

Virginia Paquette
Letterpress and lithograph
1994

Image of Bamboo No.9

Bamboo No.9

Mare Blocker
Letterpress and linocut
1994

Image of Bamboo No.8

Bamboo No.8

Jeffrey Bishop
Letterpress and lithograph
1993

Image of Bamboo No.7

Bamboo No.7

Dennis Evans
Letterpress and print
1993

Image of Bamboo No.6

Bamboo No.6

T. Michael Gardiner
Letterpress and lithograph
1993

Image of Bamboo No.5

Bamboo No.5

Scott Smith
Letterpress and woodcut
1993

Image of Bamboo No.4

Bamboo No.4

Mrs. Crispwick
Letterpress and lithograph
1993

Image of Bamboo No.3

Bamboo No.3

Gene Gentry McMahon
Letterpress and woodcut
1993

Image of Bamboo No.2

Bamboo No.2

Jimmy Jet
Letterpress and lithograph
1993

Image of Bamboo No.1

Bamboo No.1

Peter Millett
Letterpress and woodcut
1993

Image of Waves Floater

Waves Floater

Romero Britto
Acrylic paint and oil pen on canvas
2017

Image of Sketch for The Pig Went Down to the Harbor and Wept #3

Sketch for The Pig Went Down to the Harbor and Wept #3

Jim Woodring
Pencil and acrylic ink on paper
2016

Image of The Pig Went Down to the Harbor and Wept #6

The Pig Went Down to the Harbor and Wept #6

Jim Woodring
Acrylic ink on paper
2016

Image of This Is Who We Are

This Is Who We Are

Inye Wokoma
Two-channel digital video (color, sound): 16:13 min.
2016

Image of Our Blood Is In These Stones: Yirim Seck

Our Blood Is In These Stones: Yirim Seck

Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016

Image of Our Blood Is In These Stones: Versa Ruff

Our Blood Is In These Stones: Versa Ruff

Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016

Image of Our Blood Is In These Stones: Daye Wokoma

Our Blood Is In These Stones: Daye Wokoma

Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016

Image of Our Blood Is In These Stones: Ama-Ibi Wokoma

Our Blood Is In These Stones: Ama-Ibi Wokoma

Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016

Image of Dawn in Luxor

Dawn in Luxor

Kahlil Joseph
16mm film transferred to two-channel digital video (color, sound); 4:1 min.
2016

Image of Alice™ (you don’t have to think about it)

Alice™ (you don’t have to think about it)

Kahlil Joseph
Digital video (color, sound); 18:41 min.
2016

Image of Eidolon

Eidolon

Cris Bruch
Aluminum composite
2015

Image of Street Action

Street Action

Buster Simpson
Archival inkjet print in artist-made frame
1974/2013

Image of Painted Silhouette

Painted Silhouette

Buster Simpson
Archival inkjet print in artist-made frame
1974/2013

Image of Window Installation

Window Installation

Buster Simpson
Archival inkjet print in artist-made frame
1974/2013