Milton Avery: Boundary of Silence: He Art Museum, Foshan, China

From November 11, 2024 to April 6, 2025, He Art Museum (HEM) presents American artist Milton Avery’s exhibition “Boundary of Silence”. The exhibition showcases the artist’s paintings alongside artworks from the He Art Museum’s collection, spanning various media from oil paintings, ink-wash paintings, sculptures, and installations. The exhibition aims to foster a dynamic dialogue between modern artists from a global perspective.

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 recognized 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.