Arshile Gorky (c. 1904–1948) played a pivotal role in shaping modern art in America. A self-taught painter, his work helped usher in Abstract Expressionism—the first internationally recognized American art movement and a lasting influence on artists worldwide. This exhibition focuses on Gorky’s relationships and sense of community—from his humble beginnings in Watertown as Vosdanik Adoian to his later life as a celebrated artist.

Art was his way to connect, to rebuild after loss, and to create belonging in the wake of exile and the unacknowledged trauma of the Armenian Genocide. Through works shared by family, fellow artists, and members of the Armenian Diaspora, the exhibition reveals how connection shaped Gorky’s art and identity. His paintings, rooted in memory and renewal, show how he redrew what it meant to be an artist in America—by creating not only compositions, but community.

The exhibition is curated by Kim S. Theriault, author of Rethinking Arshile Gorky published by Penn State University Press (2009) and sponsored by the JHM Charitable Foundation.

Details coming soon.