COLLECTIONS
Spanning four different collections and thousands of items, M+’s treasure trove of visual culture encompasses everything from architectural models and Korean art films to Hong Kong-inspired artworks and Chinese comic books
Since M+’s first acquisition in 2012, the museum has meticulously built an unparalleled body of works by artists, designers and architects, locally and from across the world, to represent a cornucopia of different and diverse narratives that define contemporary life.
The world of ideas is limitless, and creative people find their inspiration far beyond their geographical borders and the limitations of their specific disciplines. With an unsurpassed collection of 20th and 21st century visual culture within a broadly Asian context, M+’s mission is to explore and document contemporary cultures and expressions in all their diversity, and shape these into a meaningful whole in its collections, featuring artworks in mediums ranging from painting, sculpture and ink art to installations, moving images and digital media. In addition, the collections feature architectural drawings and models, graphic designs, manufactured objects, album covers, posters, video games and more from within and beyond Asia.
There are four different collections, the first being the M+ Collection, a compendium of 6,413 items from diverse visual disciplines, including design and architecture, which comprises thousands of objects from electronics, textiles, furniture and building models to entire architectural interiors. Moving Image traces the historical development of timebased media and its significant impact on visual culture over the last seven decades, and also features the ongoing acquisition of the complete oeuvre of Korean artist duo Young-hae Chang Heavy Industries. Visual Art, meanwhile, contains a broad spectrum of paintings, sculptures, installations and works of ink art. And finally, Hong Kong Visual Culture acknowledges M+’s home city as a framework for artistic interpretation.
Chronicling the development of Chinese art from 1972 to 2012, the 1,510 item-strong M+ Sigg Collection comprises works encompassing a breadth of styles and mediums, including those of influential underground art collectives No Name Group and Stars Art Group. The M+ Library Special Collection addresses the role of printed material within key modern artistic movements and features 443 unique books, modernist magazines, Chinese propaganda manuals, Manhua (comics), design volumes and experimental graphic design publications from the last 70 years.
Finally, the vast M+ Collection Archives include the archival research materials the museum has acquired since 2013, which currently comprise more than 80 separate collections, or ‘fonds’, and are mainly design- and architecture-related. These archives are available for public use in the M+ Research Centre.