Paul Chan, Katabasis, 2019. T. B. Walker Acquisition Fund 2023. Courtesy Walker Art Center.
The Visual Arts Permanent Collection reflects the Walker’s multidisciplinary mission and the increasingly interdisciplinary practice of artists. With nearly 16,000 works by almost 2,500 artists from around the world, it features a diverse range of artistic output, including painting, sculpture, films, performances, books, artist archives, and more.
How the Walker Art Center Acquired Every Print Jasper Johns Ever Made
In 1987, a New York gallery contacted the Walker with an extraordinary offer: an opportunity to purchase 317 prints by Jasper Johns—everything the artist had produced up to that point. No public institution in the world owned a complete collection of graphic work by Johns—who, it turns out, was the unnamed seller behind the collection. As we open An Art of Changes: Jasper Johns Prints, 1960–2018, curator Joan Rothfuss looks at this extraordinary body of work by an American icon.
A Large Number of Artists Make Their Homes Here: Henriette Huldisch on the Walker’s Collection
The Walker's chief curator and director of Curatorial Affairs sits down to talk about the role of museum collections, the local art ecosystem, and the surprises of snow maintenance.
This Just In: New Acquisitions Focus on Emerging Artists, the Interdisciplinary
The Walker’s world-renowned collections feature diverse artists whose works continually question the possibilities of art. Over the course of the last 15 months, the newest additions to our collection—by artists from Carolee Schneemann, Stan VanDerBeek, and Christian Marclay to Trisha Baga, Tetsuya Yamada, and Martine Syms—were guided by a strong focus on two key areas: interdisciplinary acquisitions and collecting works by emerging artists.
From the Modern to the Global Museum: Collecting Interdisciplinary and Non-Object-Based Art
"How have museums presented and acquired works by interdisciplinary artists?" Continuing our series of essays on interdisciplinary practices, curator and art historian Sabine Breitwieser explores the complexities of dance, performance, and non-object based artworks entering the museum space.
How Do You Care for an Artwork that Has No Physical Form? A Conversation on Media and Time-Based Works in the Walker’s Collections
How do museums collect and care for works of art that lack traditional physical forms, like VR, video, and works made of light? Joe King, the director of Collections and Exhibition Management at the Walker, discusses the unique and joyful challenges registrars have in the preservation and presentation of digital and durational artworks.
How can a work of dance be collected by a museum? How, why, and to what ends can a museum collection support interdisciplinary artworks that stem from performances? What opportunities and limitations do such works present to the artist and institution? Pavel Pyś considers acquisitions of works by Maria Hassabi, Jason Moran, Joan Jonas, Meredith Monk, and Carolee Schneemann that have each presented unique questions, challenging and opening new ways for the Walker to approach collecting.
