Hammer Contemporary Collection
In 2005 the Hammer launched an initiative to build a collection of contemporary art. This growing collection is led by works on paper–particularly drawings and photographs–but also includes painting, sculpture, and media arts. Particular attention is paid to works by artists from Southern California, but the collection represents artists working throughout the United States and internationally. When possible, artists are represented in depth, and works are often acquired in tandem with exhibitions at the Hammer, particularly from the Hammer Projects series.
In conjunction with the unveiling of the Hammer’s building expansion, the Hammer Contemporary Collection takes over our galleries in 2023 with the largest presentation in the museum’s history. Occupying nearly all gallery spaces, these exhibitions highlight acquisitions since 2005—the year the Hammer began collecting contemporary art. Included in the exhibition are works in a wide range of media by Los Angeles-based and international artists.
Works in the collection
The works below will all be featured in Hammer Contemporary Collection exhibitions in 2023.
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Haim Steinbach, black lagoon, 2010Plastic laminated wood shelf, rubber dog chew, resin and coir boot scraper, plastic "Creature from the Black Lagoon" figure; plastic sand scooper. 53 3/4 x 68 1/2 x 21 in. (136.5 x 174 x 53.3 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchase. -
Katie Grinnan, Mirage, 2011Friendly plastic, enamel paint, sand. 72 x 62 x 80 in. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchase. -
Mary Kelly, Mimus Act I (Posner), 2012Compressed lint, archival card. 83 3/4 x 61 x 2 1/2 in. (212.7 x 154.9 x 6.4 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased with funds provided by Erika Glazer. -
Frances Stark, My Best Thing, 2011Digital video, color, sound. 100 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchase. -
![A line of tanks drives down a dirt road]()
Gelare Khoshgozaran, Medina Wasl: Connecting Town, 201816mm film transferred to video, color, sound. 31 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased with funds provided by Cindy Miscikowski. -
![A large, fenced in building in a pink-tinted landscape]()
Gelare Khoshgozaran, Medina Wasl: Connecting Town, 201816mm film transferred to video, color, sound. 31 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased with funds provided by Cindy Miscikowski. -
![Painting of a nude female form, seen in a psychedelic, exploded view]()
Christina Quarles, Forced Perspective (Look on tha Bright Side), 2018Acrylic on canvas. 84 × 96 in. (213.4 × 243.8 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased through the Board of Advisors Acquisition Fund. Painting of a nude female form, seen in a psychedelic, exploded view -
![Painting of a group of women around a campfire, some drinking, one chopping wood, two skinnydipping]()
Sasha Gordon, Campfire, 2021Oil on canvas. 64 × 113 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (162.6 × 288.3 × 3.8 cm) -
![A cartoon clown walks across a colorful landscape]()
Alessandro Pessoli, Autoritratto Petrolini, 2014Video, velvet screen with silk bows, steel hanging bars, tripod, computer, projector. Dimensions variable. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchase -
![Two hands hold a banana pierced at the tip by a gold hoop]()
Alex Da Corte, Chelsea Hotel No. 2, 2010HD digital video, color, sound. Music: Leonard Cohen. 3:04 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased with funds provided by Sigridur Thorisdottir and Sigurjon Sighvatsson. -
![A pair of hands, seen inclose up, paint a bunch of cherries with nail polish]()
Alex Da Corte, Chelsea Hotel No. 2, 2010HD digital video, color, sound. Music: Leonard Cohen. 3:04 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased with funds provided by Sigridur Thorisdottir and Sigurjon Sighvatsson. -
![A cartoon man wearing a shirt covered in eyes stabs the eyes with scissors]()
Tala Madani, Eye Stabber, 2013Single channel stop-motion animation, color. Dimensions variable. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased through the Board of Advisors Acquisition Fund. -
![A cartoon man wearing a shirt covered in eyes holds a pair of scissors]()
Tala Madani, Eye Stabber, 2013Single channel stop-motion animation, color. Dimensions variable. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased through the Board of Advisors Acquisition Fund. -
![Black and white close up of a face, inset over an image of clouds]()
James Richards, Radio at Night, 2015Digital video, color, sound. 8:10 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased through the Board of Advisors Acquisition Fund. -
![Video composite showing images in negative, including a view of surgeons at work]()
James Richards, Radio at Night, 2015Digital video, color, sound. 8:10 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased through the Board of Advisors Acquisition Fund. -
![A man sleeps in a bed verdant plants]()
Zheng Bo, Pteridophilia I, 20164K video, color, sound. 17 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Gift of Kejia Wu and Noah Lidman. -
![The artist Zackary Drucker seen in profile]()
Zackary Drucker & Rhys Ernst, She Gone Rogue, 2012Single channel video projection, color, sound. 22 min. Credit Line: Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchase. -
![View of an audience of smiling Black men and women, apparently from the 70s]()
Jibade-Khalil Huffman, TFW, 2017Single channel video, sound, color. 47 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchase. -
![Radial blurred image]()
Zhu Jia, Forever, 1994Single-channel video, color, silent. 27:19 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Gift of the Haudenschild Collection. Photo courtesy of the artist and ShanghART Gallery. -
!["ELLF" magazine cover with woman wearing dog face paint with the headline "Sex Dog"]()
Cao Fei, Beautiful Dog Brows, 2002Chromogenic print. 57 1/16 x 41 5/16 in. (145 x 105 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Gift of the Haudenschild Collection. Photo Courtesy of the artist, Vitamin Creative Space, and Sprüth Magers. -
![People stand around in an orange lit room. One man holds a woman in his arms]()
Yang Fudong, Don’t Worry, It Will Be Better No. 8, 2000Chromogenic print. 42 1/8 x 55 1/8 in. (107 x 140 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Gift of the Haudenschild Collection. Photo courtesy of the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery, and ShanghART Gallery. © Yang Fudong. -
![Hand holding a collage of a busy cityscape with Motorola ads]()
Chen Shaoxiong, Street–Motorola, 1999Chromogenic print. 24 x 36 5/8 in. (61 x 93 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Gift of the Haudenschild Collection. Photo courtesy of the artist's daughter Chen Siyu and SPURS Gallery. -
![Photograph of a young girl sitting on a wall looking toward the skyline of Shenzhen]()
Weng Fen (also known as Weng Peijun), Sitting on the Wall–Shenzhen 1, 2002Chromogenic print. 56 11/16 × 72 13/16 in. (144 × 185 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, gift of the Haudenschild Collection. Photo courtesy of the artist. -
Jesper Just, No Man Is An Island II, 2004Single-channel DVCAM video, color, sound. 4 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchase. -
Jesper Just, No Man Is An Island II, 2004Single-channel DVCAM video, color, sound. 4 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchase. -
![A man in a mask is on fire]()
Mariah Garnett, Full Burn, 2014Video, color, sound. 20 min. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased through the Board of Overseers Acquisition Fund -
![A photograph of a painting rendered in an airbrush aesthetic characteristic of lowrider car culture in Los Angeles. A man's face occupies the center and majority of the painting. He is behind a steel window with crisscrossing and straight lines. A steering wheel occupies each corner of the painting.]()
Mario Ayala, Aqueduct Angel, 2020Acrylic on canvas. 88 × 68 in. (223.5 × 172.7 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Ever Gold [Projects], San Francisco -
Lee Mullican, Ninnekah Calendar (detail), 1951Oil on canvas. 30 x 50 1/8 in. (76.2 x 127.3 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchase and partial gift of Bill Resnick. Photography by Brian Forrest. -
Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Ike Ya, 2016Acrylic, transfers, colored pencil, and charcoal on paper. 84 x 99 in. (213.4 x 251.5 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchase.
