The Contemporary Museum collects works created since 1940 by local, regional, national and international artists. The collection comprises 2,400 works in the following categories: paintings; sculpture and installations; drawings and watercolors; prints; photographs and video works; assemblage; ceramics; glass; wood; metal; and fiberworks/textiles.

Approximately one half of the works in the collection are by artists of HawaiÎi. The remainder largely comprises works by artists from the continental United States, with a growing representation of artists from Europe, Latin America, Japan and Australia. TCMâs collection has greatly expanded since its inception to reflect the achievements of both established and emerging artists.

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The collection is particularly strong in the following areas:

Ceramic Sculpture - TCM has an excellent representation of artists who have established clay as a major sculptural medium. TCMâs collection includes three works by Robert Arneson, including the monumental Temple of Fatal Laffs, and important examples by Stephen De Staebler, Ken Price, Peter Voulkos, Ron Nagle, Adrian Saxe, Mark Burns, Nancy Carman, Robert Brady and Daisy Youngblood.

Contemporary Vessels - TCM has assembled significant holdings by artists who explore the tradition of the vessel in ceramic, wood, fiber, metal and glass. Among the artists represented are Gertrud and Otto Natzler, Beatrice Wood, Lucie Rie, Rudolf Staffel, Jay Musler, Ferne Jacobs, Richard DeVore, June Schwarz, Ron Kent, Diane Itter and Dale Chihuly.

Photography - TCMâs photography collection focuses on works that are conceptually based or employ alternative processes that challenge traditional notions of photography. Artists represented include William Wegman, Robert Cumming, John Coplans and Lucas Samaras, as well as younger artists such as Catherine Opie, Gregory Crewdson, Christopher Bucklow, Bill Jacobson, Vik Muniz and Liza Ryan.

Prints - Highlights of TCMâs print collection include Electric Chair, a series of ten screenprints by Andy Warhol; Savarin, a monotype by Jasper Johns; Had Gadya, a series of ten mixed-media prints by Frank Stella; and High Green, a color etching and aquatint by Richard Diebenkorn.

Other significant holdings include an untitled oil on canvas by Robert Motherwell; Marsaxlokk Bay, a large-scale mixed-media metal relief by Frank Stella; The White Cup, a mixed-media assemblage by Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz; and eighteen works by Dennis Oppenheim.