Milton Avery
Boundary of Silence
11 November 2024—6 April 2025
He Art Museum, Guangdong, China
In November, He Art Museum (HEM) will present the paintings of American artist Milton Avery (1885-1965) in the fourth floor exhibition hall, juxtaposing them with the museum collections. The exhibition will cover works in various media such as painting, sculpture and installation, hoping to present the diverse aspects of modern and contemporary art from China and the West through rich dialogue.
Avery was born in 1885 into a working-class family in Altmar, New York. From his
twenties until his passing in 1965, he painted almost daily over more than forty years.
Abstract Expressionist master Mark Rothko cited him as an inspiration, yet he had
never achieved wide fame in his lifetime. In photographs, Avery rarely smiles. His thin lips pressed into a slightly nervous line.
Perhaps the early loss of his father and brothers made him aware of life’s fragility from
a young age, compelling him to devote his limited time to his art and family. “Work,
for the night is coming when man’s work is done” was a jingle he often sang at home.
He never joined any artistic movement, instead focusing on eliminating superfluous elements from his work to capture the essence of nature and art, seeking to convey the
transient beauty of the world with his brushstrokes.
Meanwhile, in China, a new generation of landscape painters recognised the importance of immersing themselves in nature. They blended Western techniques with traditional Chinese methods. As they stepped into the wild, Chinese painting began its own transformation towards modernity. “Why talk when you can paint?” The exhibition also features selected works from the He Art Museum’s collection. With five moments and five parallel universes, we invite visitors to traverse boundaries and embark on a silent journey alongside Milton Avery.