Welcome to the Arts Center's Collection

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center houses a world-class collection of artist-built environments and works by contemporary and vernacular artists. We invite you to explore the works in the collection through this searchable database.

How to Search
Search by Keyword or use our Advanced search functionality. Keyword search allows you to search all fields. Advanced search allows you to narrow your search to a specific field. You can also browse the collection using the Random Images or Objects features. Searches use OR to connect words (e.g., a search for Jack Earl will return records associated with Jack OR Earl). If you want to find records where both words are included, type AND between the two words. To search for a specific phrase, put the phrase in quotes (e.g., "coffee cup"). You can also use the asterisk (*) as a wild card (e.g., a search for and* would come up with records containing Andy, Anderson, andiron, etc.). Searches are not case sensitive.


Arts/Industry artist Jim Neel opens a mold in the Kohler Co. Pottery, 2009.	Installation view of The World in a Garden: Nek Chand at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 2017.	Matt Nolen, The Social History of Architecture (detail), 1999; vitreous china and glaze. John Michael Kohler Arts Center Collection.
Arts/Industry	Artist-built Environments	Washrooms
These works of art were created by artists-in-residence in the Arts Center’s world-renowned Arts/Industry program. Often cited as one of the most unusual collaborations between arts and industry in the United States, the program is administered by the Arts Center and hosted and supported by Kohler Co.	Since the 1970s, the Arts Center has been involved in the preservation, study, and exhibition of artist-built environments. The creators of art environments transform their surroundings into multifaceted works of art that embody the time and place in which they lived and worked.	Our public washrooms were commissioned for the 1999 expansion of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. They have garnered worldwide attention and earned multiple national and international awards.

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center welcomes individuals to use the archives and collections onsite by appointment for academic or personal research. If you are interested in doing this, please fill out this form.