The Malta International Contemporary Arts Space (MICAS) is hosting a rare and unique showcase of modern and contemporary art from seven major global artists, hanging alongside 30 works of master American colourist Milton Avery.
On Saturday, 25th October, MICAS opens Colour, Form and Composition: Milton Avery and his Enduring Influence on Contemporary Painting, showing Avery’s work hanging alongside responses by contemporary artists who credit him as an influence. The exhibition will run until 4th April 2026.
These include Henni Alftan (Finnish, b. 1979), the subject of a solo exhibition in NYC in 2025; March Avery (American, b. 1932), Milton’s daughter and a successful painter in her own right; Harold Ancart (Belgian, b. 1980) who had a highly celebrated exhibition of paintings at Gagosian gallery in Paris in 2024; Andrew Cranston (Scottish, b. 1969) who recently had a sell-out exhibition at Karma Gallery in Los Angeles; Gary Hume (British, b. 1962) – Young British Artist and a Royal Academician who recently held a solo exhibition at Sprüth Magers in London; Nicolas Party (Swiss, b. 1980) who had a major solo exhibition at Hoam Museum of Art, Yongin, South Korea in 2024; and Jonas Wood, (American, b. 1977) – who in 2024 was the subject of a solo exhibition at Gagosian in London.
A global display on a local stage
Widely recognised as an important 20th-century American artist, Milton Avery’s (1885-1965) works are held in several key institutional collections across America, but his first museum exhibition in Europe was only recently held, in 2022, at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
“This is a significant, one-of-a-kind exhibition for Malta,” says Edith Devaney, curator and Artistic Director at MICAS, who notes the uniqueness of this meeting of contemporary artists with Avery’s paintings by far demonstrates how the notion of art history is not simply linear.
“MICAS is the second only European institution to hold a Milton Avery retrospective together with the participation of a stellar case of contemporary artists, each with a conscious response to the Avery works to be shown.”
The curator is working with Paris-based designer Cécile Degos in this thematic exhibition that places Avery’s paintings alongside new works created decades later – an unexpected visual dialogue that will shift Avery’s work beyond its historical frame.
Avery is widely credited as having influenced the younger protagonists of Abstract Expressionism, namely Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman and Adolph Gottlieb, who expressed their deep admiration for, and debt to, Avery’s work and practice throughout their careers.
“To an extent, he became the link between two significant 20th century national movements, American Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism – so this MICAS exhibition is exploring the extent to which Avery and his oeuvre continues to be held in high regard by some of the leading contemporary artists of our time,” says Edith.
A notable foundation year
This exhibition marks the end as well as the culmination of the museum’s first full year since opening its doors last October with an exhibition by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, followed by showcases for Maltese artists Ray Pitrè, Caesar Attard, Vince Briffa, Austin Camilleri, Joyce Camilleri, Anton Grech, and Pierre Portelli.
MICAS executive chairperson Phyllis Muscat says the museum will be ending the year on a high with the Milton Avery exhibition.
“MICAS is a platform for the excellence of the island’s contemporary artists, as well as a destination for international contemporary art. This Avery exhibition is a high-water mark for our very young ambitions, hosting the work of an American master of colour and responses from seven painters.”
Exploring an artistic legacy
‘Colour, Form and Composition’ explores the artistic legacy of Milton Avery and how aspects of his work remain detectable in some of today’s most celebrated artists.
His entire career comes under the spotlight – from his mid-career subjects from the mid- to late 1940s, as well as his late work from the 1950s through to the early 1960s, demonstrating the continuing influence of European Modernism on his work, particularly Matisse; as well as the profound influence Avery had on the emerging colour field Abstract Expressionist painters, and what he took from them as his works became less dependent on the figurative content.
Dubbed a ‘painter’s painter’ by the writer and art historian Dore Ashton, Avery’s work on show at MICAS will reveal the extent to which that characterisation of him remains true to this day, as the participating artists reveal their personal relationship with Avery’s work.
Photography courtesy of MICAS / Main image of Milton Avery, New York City, c. 1930 via The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation
