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.
Clarissa Tossin
Porcelain
2021
Clarissa Tossin
Silicone, black pigment, tree bark
2022
Duane Linklater
Powder-coated trap, mirror, gypsum board, plywood, steel wall studs
2016
Rose Nestler
Leather, thread, batting, grommets, hooks
2018
Alison Bremner
Latex paint on deer hide with horsehair
2017
Cris Bruch
Aluminum composite
2015
Cris Bruch
Blown glass
2016
Mark Calderon
Book spine repair tape
2012
Jeffry Mitchell
Glazed earthenware on artist-made wood pedestal
2012
Matt Browning
Tree sap and carved wood
2010
The Black Constellation
Composited bone, enamel, found goggles
2012
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