Avalanche magazine was founded by Willoughby Sharp and Liza Béar shortly after they met in 1968. At the time, Sharp was a New York-based art historian and independent curator and Béar an underground magazine editor who had recently moved to New York from London. They published the first issue in 1970 and collaborated on 13 issues from 1970 to 1976.
Avalanche focused on art from the perspective of artists rather than critics, and investigated new forms of art that were developing in the U.S. and Europe with a radical new media format—probing interviews and a visionary design that made extensive use of photography and dynamic layouts. For many artists, publication in Avalanche preceded a one-person gallery or museum show. Aside from an eight to twelve-page news section, the editorial content included only* interviews by Sharp and/or Béar, artists' texts and documents of art and art making, also functioning as an exhibition space in print. Fresh, incisive and unpretentious, the Avalanche interviews—now landmarks—illuminate the creative process and give clear voice to the specific issues that permeated the era
Among the featured artists were Vito Acconci, Laurie Anderson, Bill Beckley, Joseph Beuys, Chris Burden, Daniel Buren, Hanne Darboven, Walter De Maria, Jan Dibbets, Barbara Dilley, Simone Forti, Gilbert & George, the Philip Glass Ensemble, Grand Union, Hans Haacke, Jannis Kounellis, Meredith Monk, Barry Le Va, Sol LeWitt, Richard Long, Gordon Matta-Clark, Bruce Nauman, Dennis Oppenheim, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, Klaus Rinke, Joel Shapiro, Jack Smith, Keith Sonnier, Richard Serra, Robert Smithson, George Trakas, William Wegman, Lawrence Weiner, the Western Front and Jackie Winsor.

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Avalanche. No. 2 (Winter 1971) [Bruce Nauman Issue] New York, NY: Kineticism Press. 1971 Featured artists include Bruce Nauman, Terry Fox, Klaus Rinke, John Van Saun, Dennis Oppenheim, Richard Serra, Yves Klein, William Wegman, Vito Acconci, and Bruce McLean.	Avalanche. No. 3 (Fall 1971) [Barry Le Va Issue] Liza Bear, editor New York, NY: Kineticism Press. 1971 David Tremlett, Joel Fisher, Gordon Matta-Clark, Robert Morris, Bill Beckley, Italo Scanga, Ulrich Ruckriem, George Trakas, and Barry Le Va
Avalanche. No. 4 (Spring 1972) [Lawrence Weiner Issue] Liza Bear, editor New York, NY: Kineticism Press. 1972 Featured artists include Jackie Winsor, Sol LeWitt, Howard Fried, Alice Aycock, Stanely Brouwn, Franz Erhard Walther, Hanne Darboven, Walter De Maria, and Lawrence Weiner.	Avalanche - Die Entwicklung einer Avantgarde-Zeitschrift Faltblatt Kölnischer Kunstverein Köln, 1973