Collection

Description

The MCA’s permanent collection includes more than 2,500 artworks that span media and movements from the 1920s to the present. Although not on permanent display, works from the collection appear regularly in our many rotating exhibitions. The entire collection, with images and descriptions, is presented here for the first time. Explore it by artist, title, or creation date. Images in this section are published for educational use under the umbrella of the Fair Use doctrine.

Artist last name index

Title index

Decade index

Chicago-based artist Jeanne Dunning explores human experiences that both repulse and intrigue. And The Pink’s (1996) gory field of red blisters coated in glossy liquid does just that.

On view
Vito Acconci, Stretch, 1969
On view
Lynda Benglis, Bhai, 1981
1. Short A golden object, that may or may not be enclosing something, is composed of many folds almost like a stiff fabric, but appears to be hand-shaped metal.
On view
Katinka Bock, Miles and Moments for Paris, 2011
1. Short Three long brown cylinders, squished and crumpled in places, lie horizontally in a row.
On view
Blythe Bohnen, Self-Portrait: Vertical motion down, medium, 1974
1. Long A black and white photograph of a blurred, gaunt face and the faded outline of the subject's neck and shoulders. The blurring produces a ghostly outline that issues from the subject. Both apparition and subject stare directly at the viewer; two parallel, white lines connect their eyes.
On view
George Brecht, Three of Swords (From Chapter VII of the Book of the Tumbler on Fire:For Yvonne Rainer), 1966
On view
John Cage, A Dip in the Lake: Ten Quicksteps, Sixty-two Waltzes, and Fifty-six Marches for Chicago and Vicinity, 1978
On view
Alexander Calder, Snowflakes and Red Stop, 1964
On view
Alexander Calder, Cascade, 1963
Image not available
On view
Martin Soto Climent, Intimate Ballet, 2010
Image not available
On view
DIS, Apology, 2016
On view
Julia Dault, Untitled 38, 2015 (10:30 AM–2:00 PM, April 4, 2016)
Image not available
On view
Jimmy DeSana, Cowboy Boots, 1984
On view
Jonas Dovydenas, Wedding Reception of Emilija and Romas Sakodolskis, Pakstas Hall, West 38th Street, 1977
On view
Jeanne Dunning, Study after Untitled Landscape, 1987, 1994/95
On view
Jeanne Dunning, Study after Untitled Landscape, 1987, 1987
1. Short A black-and-white rectangular photographic close up light skin with coarse black hair filling the bottom third of the frame
On view
Melvin Edwards, Off and Gone, 1992
On view
Adam Ekberg, Disco ball in the woods, 2006
Image not available
On view
Dan Flavin, “monument” for V. Tatlin, 1967
On view
Hamish Fulton, France on the Horizon, 1976
On view
David Hammons, Praying to Safety, 1997
On view
Jene Highstein, Floating World, 1986
1. Short Photograph of a person-sized rounded outdoor sculpture made of grey, textured stone
On view
Jim Isermann, Flower Painting, 1986
On view
Arthur Jafa, Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death, 2016
On view
Rashid Johnson, The New Negro Escapist Social and Athletic Club (Marcus), 2010
1. Short This black and white vertical portrait portrays a dark-skinned person with two faces, one looking left and the other looking right, with palm-like fronds surrounding the figure.
2. Long The masculine person, shown from the torso up, is wearing a vertically striped button-down shirt, a herringbone vest, and a dark tie. The subject takes up the majority of the image, with their shoulders extending to either of the vertical edges. The two superimposed faces, slightly overlapping, have a similarly stoic expression. Both of the faces have heavy, dark eyebrows, a wide rounded nose, a closed, expressionless mouth, and are crowned by a dark, curly afro hair style. The upper left and bottom corners all appear lighter in tone, as if overexposed. Surrounding the figure are lush, palm-like plant fronds, both in the background and foreground. Some of the fronds obscure the person's shoulders on both sides of the image.
On view
Isaac Julien, Untitled (Three), 1999
On view
Annette Kelm, Untitled (Eisenspan 12), 2012
On view
Jeff Koons, Lifeboat, 1985
On view
Jeff Koons, Three Ball Total Equilibrium Tank, 1985
On view
Glenn Ligon, Untitled (Study #1 for Prisoner of Love), 1992
1. Short Black stenciled text that reads "WE ARE THE INK THAT GIVES THE WHITE PAGE A MEANING" repeats for twenty-nine lines, gradually becoming distorted until it's almost illegible at the bottom.
On view
Richard Long, Untitled, 1987
On view
Kerry James Marshall, Souvenir I, 1997
On view
Ana Mendieta, Untitled from the Silueta series, 1973–77
1. Short A hole in the shape of a curvy human form with raised arms and bent elbows is dug into wet sand. Bright red pigment fills and spills out of the human-shaped hole.
On view
Ana Mendieta, Untitled from the Silueta series, 1973–77
On view
Ana Mendieta, Untitled from the Silueta series, 1973–77
On view
Richard Misrach, Lake Mead #1, 1986
1. Short Framed photograph of a tan, rocky terrain with a sliver of lake visible at the horizon and, at the top half of the image, a grey-blue sky with diffuse clouds
On view
Bruce Nauman, Life, Death, Love, Hate, Pleasure, Pain, 1983
1. Short A circle of words formed by neon lights in green, blue, pink, and yellow reads, clockwise from the top: "LOVE HATE PLEASURE PAIN LIFE DEATH."
On view
Catherine Opie, In Memory/Leigh Bowery, 2000
On view
Dennis Oppenheim, Negative Board, (Detail), 1968
On view
Jack Pierson, Fallen Palm, 1990
Image not available
On view
Pope.L, Crying Painting, 2016
Image not available
On view
George Rickey, Two Lines Oblique, 1968
On view
Thomas Schütte, Ganz Grosse Geister (Big Spirits XL), 2004
1. Short Three yellow sculptures of abstract human figures stand as if communicating with each other outdoors in an urban setting.
2. Long Three yellow and white forms are installed on an outdoor terrace. The forms resemble human bodies, yet they have no faces. The heads of the forms are created from coiled, hard textured material and the bodies are similarly constructed of coiled material, arranged into torsos, arms and legs. The scale of the figures is about double the size of an average person and the are arranged about a half of a figure length apart from each other. The figure on the left appears to have its head tilted to the sky, while the center figure faces to the right, where the third figure bends lightly towards the ground, hand upraised. The bright color of the figures contrasts with urban scene in the background: behind the figures a black fence, green leafy trees and tall gray buildings are visible. The sky is bright blue and the bright light of mid-day casts sharp shadows below the figures.
Image not available
On view
Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Mirror Study (0X5A1237), 2017
Image not available
On view
Stan Shellabarger, Untitled (Walking Book 30, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL), 2009
On view
Erin Shirreff, Sculpture for Snow, 2011
On view
Gary Simmons, Star Child, 2003
Image not available
On view
Laurie Simmons, Some New: Hayden Dunham (White), 2018
Image not available
On view
Nancy Spero, The Dancer, 1994
On view
Michelle Stuart, Turtle Pond, 1974
On view
Michelle Stuart, Turtle Pond Site Drawing #36, 1974
On view
Takis, Magnetic Mobile, c. 1964
On view
Dannielle Tegeder, Illinois: 7 people, 1 site, 1986 (2007), 2007
1. Short Mixed media drawing of intersecting lines layered with photographs of a house and a row of heads
Image not available
On view
Carrie Mae Weems, Congo Ibo Mandingo Togo, 1995
On view
Carrie Mae Weems, Ebo Landing from the Sea Islands series, 1992
On view
James Welling, 1538, 2016

Gloved hands review a 4x5 color transparency and a roll of 35mm black and white film over a light box with a viewing loupe.

To request images—including exhibition installation views and permanent collection works—or MCA-created text or media, fill out a media and image application.

Short Gloved hands review a 4x5 color transparency and a roll of 35mm black and white film over a light box with a viewing loupe.

Works that are titled Untitled

Short A blue-and-white graph shaped like a ring with one-sixth solid and the rest checkered is titled "As on Nov 2015."

Collection

Description

Browse the Collection

Artist last name index

Title index

Decade index

Featured Work

Works on View

Reproduction Requests

Facts and Figures