Contemporary Art

Media - 2015.34 - SAAM-2015.34_1 - 116878
Mark Bradford, Amendment #8, 2014, mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Lohrfink Foundation and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2015.34, © 2014, Mark Bradford

In recent years, the museum has strengthened its commitment to contemporary art through acquisitions, commissions, and exhibitions. The museum has acquired important works by Barbara Bosworth, Deborah Butterfield, Walton Ford, Frank Gohlke, John Gossage, Jenny Holzer, Robert Longo, Kerry James Marshall, Tim Rollins and K.O.S, Sean Scully, and Jean Shin, among others.

A particular collecting focus has been video and time-based art. The museum has assembled a serious collection of key artworks from the history of video art as well as works by new generation of artists on the cutting edge of media arts. Cory Arcangel, Jim Campbell, Peter Campus, Kota Ezawa, Svetlana and Igor Kopystiansky, Nam June Paik, Marina Zurkow, and many others are represented in the museum's permanent collection.

Selected Works

Nam June Paik, Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, 1995, fifty-one channel video installation (including one closed-circuit television feed), custom electronics, neon lighting, steel and wood; color, sound, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2002.23, © Nam June Paik Estate
Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii
Artist
Date1995
fifty-one channel video installation (including one closed-circuit television feed), custom electronics, neon lighting, steel and wood; color, sound
On view
Mark Bradford, Amendment #8, 2014, mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Lohrfink Foundation and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2015.34, © 2014, Mark Bradford
Amendment #8
Artist
Date2014
mixed media
On view
Jim Campbell, Grand Central Station #2, 2009, custom electronics, LEDs, and mounted photo-transparency, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the American Art Forum, 2010.22A-C, © 2009, Jim Campbell
Grand Central Station #2
Artist
Date2009
custom electronics, LEDs, and mounted photo-transparency
Not on view
Cory Arcangel, Photoshop CS: 50 by 50 inches, 300 DPI, RGB, square pixels, default gradient “Blue, Yellow, Blue”, mousedown y=2000 x=1500, mouseup y=9350 x=1650; tool “Wand”, select y=5000, x=2000, tolerance=32, contiguous= off; default gradient “Spectrum”, mousedown y=8050 x=8700, mouseup y=3600 x=5050, 2013, chromogenic print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2014.8, © Cory Arcangel. Image courtesy of Cory Arcangel.
Photoshop CS: 50 by 50 inches, 300 DPI, RGB, square pixels,…
Artist
Date2013
chromogenic print
Not on view
Deborah Butterfield, Monekana, 2001, bronze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the American Art Forum, Mr. and Mrs. Frank O. Rushing, Shelby and Frederick Gans and museum purchase, 2002.3, © 2001, Deborah Butterfield
Monekana
Artist
Date2001
bronze
Not on view
John R. Gossage, Untitled, from the series The Pond, 1985, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of anonymous donors, 2007.40.31, © 1985, John Gossage
Untitled, from the series The Pond
Artist
Date1985
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Jean Shin, Chemical Balance III, 2009, prescription pill bottles, acrylic mirrors, epoxy, fluorescent lights, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of an anonymous donor in honor of YoungArts, the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, 2010.2A-E, © 2009, Jean Shin
Chemical Balance III
Artist
Date2009
prescription pill bottles, acrylic mirrors, epoxy, fluorescent lights
Not on view
Sean Scully, Maesta, 1983, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2004.1A-C, © 1983, Sean Scully
Maesta
Artist
Date1983
oil on canvas
On view
Walton Ford, Tur, 2007, watercolor and gouache on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the American Art Forum and Nion T. McEvoy, 2008.4A-C, © 2007, Walton Ford
Tur
Artist
Date2007
watercolor and gouache on paper
Not on view
Robert Longo, Untitled (Hercules), 2008, charcoal on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2009.1, © 2008, Robert Longo and Metro Pictures
Untitled (Hercules)
Artist
Date2008
charcoal on paper
Not on view
Kerry James Marshall, SOB, SOB, 2003, acrylic on fiberglass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2010.29, © 2003, Kerry James Marshall
SOB, SOB
Artist
Date2003
acrylic on fiberglass
On view
Barbara Bosworth, Two Eastern Phoebes, 2004, chromogenic print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan, 2008.2.24, © 2004, Barbara Bosworth
Two Eastern Phoebes
Artist
Date2004
chromogenic print
Not on view
Frank Gohlke, Aerial View - Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1981, printed 1982, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Joshua P. Smith, 1992.32.24, © 1981, Frank Gohlke
Aerial View — Tulsa, Oklahoma
Artist
Date1981, printed 1982
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Tim Rollins, Tim Rollins and K.O.S., By Any Means Necessary (after Malcolm X), 2008, matte acrylic and book pages on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2010.18, © 2008, Tim Rollin and K.O.S.
By Any Means Necessary (after Malcolm X)
Artist
Date2008
matte acrylic and book pages on canvas
On view
Marina Zurkow, Elixir II, 2009, continuous digital animation, color, silent; 05:00 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gary Wolkowitz, 2010.24, © 2009, Marina Zurkow
Elixir II
Artist
Date2009
continuous digital animation, color, silent; 05:00 minutes
Not on view

Related Artists

Barbara Bosworth
born Cleveland, OH 1953

Photographer Barbara Bosworth focuses on landscape photography and is particularly interested in the interrelatedness of man and the natural environment.

Deborah Butterfield
born San Diego, CA 1949
Walton Ford
born Larchmont, NY 1960
Frank Gohlke
born Wichita Falls, TX 1942
John R. Gossage
born New York City 1946
Black and white photo of Jenny Holzer with a light source to the left and her left hand on the back of her neck.
Jenny Holzer
born Gallipolis, OH 1950
Jenny Holzer presents original and found statements in a wide range of formats, inviting us to consider the societal messages we receive and the power dynamics underwriting them. "I like placing content wherever people look," she has remarked, "and that can be at the bottom of a cup or on a shirt or hat or on the surface of a river or all over a building."
Robert Longo
born New York City 1953
Kerry James Marshall
born Birmingham, AL 1955
Tim Rollins
born Pittsfield, ME 1955-died New York City 2017
Sean Scully
born Dublin, Ireland 1945

Scully was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1945 but was raised in London, where his family moved in 1949.

Jean Shin
born Seoul, South Korea 1971
Cory Arcangel
born Buffalo, NY 1978
Jim Campbell
born Chicago, IL 1956
Peter Campus
born New York City 1937
Kota Ezawa
born Cologne, Germany 1969
Svetlana Kopystiansky
born Voronez, Russia 1950
Igor Kopystiansky
born Lvov, Ukraine 1954
Media - portrait_image_114969.jpg - 134917
Nam June Paik
born Seoul, Korea 1932-died Miami Beach, FL 2006

Nam June Paik (1932–2006), internationally recognized as the "Father of Video Art," created a large body of work including video sculptures, installations, performances, videotapes and television productions.

Marina Zurkow
born New York City 1962