The Contemporary Collection
ABOUT THE COLLECTION
The AGO’s contemporary collection is actively transforming. Acquiring work from international artists since 1960 and Canadian artists since 1990, the collection includes painting, sculpture, immersive installation, works on paper, photography, performance, video and sound art.
Most major art movements from the 1960s onwards are represented in the collection, including Pop Art, Minimalism, Post-minimalism, and Arte Povera. The holdings from these areas include work by artists such as Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine, Robert Indiana, George Segal, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Dan Flavin, Robert Morris, John McCracken, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Luciano Fabro, Mario Merz, Jannis Kounellis, Giulio Paolini, Joseph Beuys, Richard Serra, Robert Smithson and Richard Long. Conceptual art is represented in the collection with works by Daniel Buren, Hans Haacke, On Kawara, Lawrence Weiner and Ian Wilson.
A core strength of international art from the 1980s is European Neo-expressionism, with iconic works by artists Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Georg Baselitz, and Jörg Immendorff. Other important works from the decade are by Gilbert and George, Jack Goldstein, Mary Kelly, Cady Noland, and Nancy Spero.
The collection of contemporary Canadian art is strengthened by career-spanning holdings of key artists such as Michael Snow, General Idea, Liz Magor, Geneviève Cadieux, Rebecca Belmore, and Stephen Andrews, and significant works by Jana Sterbak, Brian Jungen, Janice Kerbel, Micah Lexier, Duane Linklater, John Massey, Ken Lum, Luis Jacob and Geoffrey Farmer.
Sculpture holdings include work by artists Mona Hatoum, Haegue Yang, Simon Starling, Doris Salcedo, Danh Vo and Pierre Huyghe. Tino Segal and Kevin Beasley’s performance works along with the time-based works of Francis Alÿs, Janet Cardiff, Paul Chan, James Coleman, Stan Douglas, Theaster Gates, Mark Lewis, Steve McQueen and Frances Stark distinguish the collection. Highlights of the contemporary photography holdings include work by Scott McFarland, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Jeff Wall and artists of the Düsseldorf School.
