DC Moore Gallery is pleased to present Milton Avery: A Selection of Paintings featuring four important works Avery made between 1947-1960.
In the pantheon of twentieth century art, Avery stands alone. Never persuaded by the artistic trends, movements, and manifestoes that surrounded him, Avery’s commitment to his personal aesthetic was resolute. Beginning as a figurative painter, his work moved towards abstraction without ever fully relinquishing its verisimilitude. His superior use of color combined with prescience for arranging forms on canvas amounted to an evocative and singular visual language.
The major paintings presented here derive from the heart of his career. The influence of Avery’s longstanding practice of organizing brief and insouciant sketch sessions with fellow artists, where they drew from life invited models who were not professionals, but rather friends, is evidenced in Pink Nude (1947) and Nude Before Screen (1949), which were likely painted after one of these sittings. Yellow Robe (1960), a portrait of his wife Sally, likewise displays Avery’s interest in the human form, and exemplifies his mastery of color, not to mention the artist’s characteristic, wry humor. And in Fresh Strawberries (1949), Avery draws a deep psychological component from a still life of a colander of berries, sitting atop a summer table.
Milton Avery: A Selection of Paintings will run concurrently with Claire Sherman: New Pangaea from March 7 – April 6, 2019.