Additions are made to the collection not only through purchases, but in large part through a constant stream of generous donations and permanent loans. In the last few years, a number of outstanding contemporary works found their way into the inventories this way. In turn, they strengthened the importance of the collection within the European artistic landscape. The current collection exhibition, Time Stories, on display in the basement and on the ground and first floors, is entirely dedicated to contemporary art. It draws on the special exhibition Before · Between · Beyond. The Collection in Transition.

Particularly in the last few decades, artistic activity has diversified to reflect a variety of positions, styles and trends. The Aargauer Kunsthaus offers a glimpse of the polyphonic, multi-faceted product of artistic activity in the course of recent years. Many of the works on display are informed by analysis of the present, as well as casting a glance into the past and confronting the future. The exhibition includes photography, sculpture, painting, video, graphic print and drawing, with expansive installations and site-specific works. Important new acquisitions and key works of contemporary art since the 1960s afford insights into this most comprehensive public collection of Swiss art.