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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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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

The Dorothy K: Large Claw

Implied Violence
Cardboard, wood, wire, rope, LED lights
2010

Five Capital Punishments in China: Drawing and Quartering

Zhi Lin
Acrylic and silkscreen over charcoal underdrawing on canvas with cotton curtain and ribbons
2007

Curse You, Peter Pan...!

David Horsey
Graphite, pen, and ink on illustration board
1998

Beltway Apocalypse

David Horsey
Graphite, pen, and ink on illustration board
1998