M+ Collection
M+ Collection
Overview
The M+ Collection is an interdisciplinary and transnational compendium of twentieth- and twenty-first-century visual culture, encompassing the disciplines of design and architecture, moving image, and visual art, and the thematic area of Hong Kong visual culture.
Exhibition view of In Search of Southeast Asia through the M+ Collections (2018), featuring works by artists Zai Kuning, Sopheap Pich, Simryn Gill, and designer Hans Tan, as well as architectural projects by Paul Rudolph, T. R. Hamzah & Yeang / Ken Yeang, WOHA Architects, and Vo Trong Nghia Architects. ©M+, Hong Kong
Exhibition view of Shifting Objectives: Design from the M+ Collection (2016), featuring ceramics and furniture design by Umeda Masanori, Ettore Sottsass, and Uchida Shigeru. ©M+, Hong Kong
Exhibition view of The Weight of Lightness (2017-2018), featuring Pine Crest (2011) by Li Huayi, Stone Bridge of Amanohashidate (1948, printed before 1962) by Ishimoto Yasuhiro, Stone, Moss, Stone (1954, printed in 1990s) by Ishimoto Yasuhiro, Untitled (Rock Arrangement at the Outside Resting Place) (1954, printed in 1990s) by Ishimoto Yasuhiro, Cliffs Beyond (1977) by Kan Tai-keung and The Six Principles of Chinese Painting — Transmission IV (with Hung Hoi) (2015) by Hung Fai. ©M+, Hong Kong
Exhibition view of Shifting Objectives: Design from the M+ Collection (2016), featuring furniture design by Charlotte Perriand, Isamu Noguchi, Le Corbusier, Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi, and Pierre Jeanneret, as well as photographs by Lucien Hervé. ©M+, Hong Kong
Exhibition view of In Search of Southeast Asia through the M+ Collections (2018), featuring works by artists Zai Kuning, Sopheap Pich, Simryn Gill, and designer Hans Tan, as well as architectural projects by Paul Rudolph, T. R. Hamzah & Yeang / Ken Yeang, WOHA Architects, and Vo Trong Nghia Architects. ©M+, Hong Kong
Exhibition view of Shifting Objectives: Design from the M+ Collection (2016), featuring ceramics and furniture design by Umeda Masanori, Ettore Sottsass, and Uchida Shigeru. ©M+, Hong Kong
Exhibition view of The Weight of Lightness (2017-2018), featuring Pine Crest (2011) by Li Huayi, Stone Bridge of Amanohashidate (1948, printed before 1962) by Ishimoto Yasuhiro, Stone, Moss, Stone (1954, printed in 1990s) by Ishimoto Yasuhiro, Untitled (Rock Arrangement at the Outside Resting Place) (1954, printed in 1990s) by Ishimoto Yasuhiro, Cliffs Beyond (1977) by Kan Tai-keung and The Six Principles of Chinese Painting — Transmission IV (with Hung Hoi) (2015) by Hung Fai. ©M+, Hong Kong
Exhibition view of Shifting Objectives: Design from the M+ Collection (2016), featuring furniture design by Charlotte Perriand, Isamu Noguchi, Le Corbusier, Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi, and Pierre Jeanneret, as well as photographs by Lucien Hervé. ©M+, Hong Kong
Our Interdisciplinary and Transnational Focus
A collection is not only a gathering of objects, but also a proposal of possible knowledge structures or ways of seeing. Since the museum’s earliest accession in 2012, M+ has built an unparalleled collection of works by artists, designers, and architects from across the world, tracing diverse narratives from both within and outside the art historical canon. Objects and makers have always travelled as freely as ideas, often far from their places of origins, and we find creative practices today extending beyond the boundaries of any single discipline. As a museum that explores and documents the diverse cultures and technologies of our time, we reflect this reality in our collections and seek to give shape to the wide network of objects and ideas that cross disciplinary and geographic borders.
Design and Architecture
The M+ Collection surveys the global narratives of twentieth- and twenty-first-century design and architecture, placing particular emphasis on design from Hong Kong and Asia. The collection consists of thousands of design and architecture objects, including posters, electronics, textiles, furniture, building models, and even entire architectural interiors.
Moving Image
Moving image in the M+ Collection traces the historical development of time-based media and its significant impact on visual culture over the last two centuries. The collection covers a range of objects, such as animations, celluloid films, feature-length films, videos, digital installations, video games, software, and web-based works. It includes a singular acquisition of all past and future works by artist duo YOUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES (1999–ongoing).
Visual Art
Visual art in the M+ Collection comprises a broad spectrum of objects that are connected across geographies and historical moments. Works include modern and contemporary drawings, installations, paintings, live art and performance-related ephemera, photographs, prints, sculptures, video works, and more.
Hong Kong Visual Culture
The thematic area of Hong Kong visual culture brings together material from across disciplines, acknowledging M+’s home city as a framework for interpretation.
Image at top: Installation view of ‘Shanshui: Echoes and Signal’. Photo: Dan Leung, M+, Hong Kong