Colour Form and Composition: Milton Avery and His Enduring Influence on Contemporary Painting

MICAS presents a landmark exhibition exploring the enduring influence of American painter Milton Avery (1885–1965) on contemporary art. A pivotal figure in 20th-century American painting, Avery bridged American Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism, earning admiration from artists like Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, and Adolph Gottlieb. His mastery of colour, simplified forms, and use of layered colour planes are celebrated in major museum collections such as MoMA, NYC, The Whitney Museum of American Art and the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

This exhibition features over 20 paintings and a number of watercolours spanning Avery’s entire career—ranging from early landscapes and domestic scenes influenced by European Modernism, to late works marked by larger scale, bolder abstraction, and non-associative colour. The selection highlights Avery’s evolution and his profound impact on younger generations of artists.

Illustrating the argument that Milton Avery’s work continues to exert and influence of artists working today, the exhibition also includes works by seven acclaimed contemporary painters—March Avery, Harold Ancart, Andrew Cranston, Henni Alftan, Gary Hume, Nicolas Party, and Jonas Wood—each responding to Avery’s legacy in unique ways. Their contributions, from literal interpretations to more intuitive echoes of Avery’s style and sensibility, reflect the continuing relevance of his work.

By re-examining Avery’s role in shaping modern and contemporary art, this exhibition introduces a new strand in Malta Contemporary’s programming, one that reconsiders historical influence within today’s global artistic discourse.

Major support for this exhibition was provided by:

The Ministry for Culture, Lands And Local Government – Government of Malta
The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation
Waqas Wajahat, New York
Karma Gallery
Xavier Hufkens, Brussels