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.
by Artist
by Artist
by Year
by Object Type
Pink on Black Group
Katherine Bradford
Acrylic on canvas
2022
Ground of Ground
Harry Gould Harvey IV
Black walnut from the Delano Sawmill, white oak from Prudence Island, MDF, colored pencil, charcoal, gouache, and pigments of goldenrod, Aronia Viking chokecherry, and rose petals
2022
Stylite Altarpiece
Eden Seifu
Acrylic on canvas
2022
Night Forest
Ann Leda Shapiro
Watercolor and watercolor pencil on archival paper
2022
After Boucher: Untitled
Molly Jae Vaughan
Oil pencil on paper
2022
Formation
Kelly Akashi
Chromogenic crystallograph in aluminum artist's frame
2021
Baby Blue
Amoako Boafo
Oil on canvas
2021
Three Slices
Amoako Boafo
Oil on canvas
2021
For Fun
Khari Johnson-Ricks
Watercolor on paper with acetate
2021
Allegory of the Raging Sun
Kat Lyons
Oil on canvas
2021
Mangahufo' I famaguon
Gisela McDaniel
Oil on panel, found objects, sound
2021
Butterfly
Bony Ramirez
Acrylic, soft oil pastel, color pencil, wallpaper, metal chain, dried coconuts
2021
Madrone + Mullan
Sadie Wechsler
Archival inkjet print in madrone artist's frame
2021
Black Face Red Bone with Black Bob
Tschabalala Self
Colored pencil, acrylic paint, gouache, charcoal, graphite on archival inkjet print
2021
Black Face with Wide Chest
Tschabalala Self
Colored pencil, acrylic paint, gouache, charcoal, graphite on archival inkjet print
2021
The Unknown
Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe
Oil on canvas
2020
To a Flame
Anthony White
PLA (plastic) on panel
2019
Untitled
Ko Kirk Yamahira
Acrylic and graphite on partially unwoven canvas with wood
2019
Untitled (Badlands)
Juventino Aranda
Oil on wool Pendleton blanket
2018
Snowflake Drawing #5 (Double Lotus Pod)
Jeffry Mitchell
Graphite, ink, carbon transfer, and watercolor on paper
2018
Dress for Success
Rose Nestler
Leather, thread, batting, grommets, hooks
2018
this trembling turf (the shallows)
Mary Ann Peters
White ink
2018
Chemically Tanned
Alison Bremner
Latex paint on deer hide with horsehair
2017
Waves Floater
Romero Britto
Acrylic paint and oil pen on canvas
2017
Strange Business
Rose Nestler
Two-channel digital video (color, silent): 20 min.
2017-18
Untitled #041220
Georgina Reskala
Gelatin silver print
2017
Emollients: Ingram's, Marinello's, Purola, Velvatone
Cris Bruch
Blown glass
2016
From Sea to Dawn
Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, Hesam Rahmanian
Digital video (color, silent); 6:21 min.
2016
Alice™ (you don’t have to think about it)
Kahlil Joseph
Digital video (color, sound); 18:41 min.
2016
Dawn in Luxor
Kahlil Joseph
16mm film transferred to two-channel digital video (color, sound); 4:1 min.
2016
Trap
Duane Linklater
Powder-coated trap, mirror, gypsum board, plywood, steel wall studs
2016
Our Blood Is In These Stones: Ama-Ibi Wokoma
Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016
Our Blood Is In These Stones: Daye Wokoma
Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016
Our Blood Is In These Stones: Versa Ruff
Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016
Our Blood Is In These Stones: Yirim Seck
Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016
This Is Who We Are
Inye Wokoma
Two-channel digital video (color, sound): 16:13 min.
2016
The Pig Went Down to the Harbor and Wept #6
Jim Woodring
Acrylic ink on paper
2016
Sketch for The Pig Went Down to the Harbor and Wept #3
Jim Woodring
Pencil and acrylic ink on paper
2016
Specular Reflections
Leo Berk
Glass, black pond dye
2015
Wind Jangle
Leo Berk
Aluminum, fishing line, weights
2015
Eidolon
Cris Bruch
Aluminum composite
2015
Ecdysis
Ishmael Butler
Audio, 24:51 min.
2015
Eclipse Tower 1
Web Crowell and Stacey Levine
Digital video of stop-motion animation (color, sound); 3:43 min.
2015
Be the First To Review The B83
Steve Fisk
Four-channel audio installation
2015
An Agnostic Manifesto
Lesley Hazleton
Text installation
2015
Avatar: Fanon & Decca
C. Davida Ingram
Digital video (color, sound); 19:23 min.
2015
Sonnet Manifesto
Paul Mullin
Text installation
2015
Tsunami Capable Tide Stations > West Coast
DK Pan
Digital video (color, sound); 38:58 min.
2015