JOAN MITCHELL: TREES edited by Ellen Robinson with text by John Yau
Cheim & Read Gallery, 2014, First edition, 64 pp., 11 1/2" X 13", Hardcover
Fine in near fine dj
Exhibition catalogue published on the occasion of the exhibition Trees at Cheim & Read, New York, May 15-August 29, 2014
Dating from 1964 to 1991, the paintings in this exhibition are inspired by the form and structure of trees. Known for her expressionistic, visceral explorations of the natural landscape, Mitchell abstracted tree-forms throughout her career, from the richly-hued, interlacing branches of Hemlock, 1956 (Collection Whitney Museum of American Art) to the thick, rectangular-trunked grove in Trees, 1990-91. The paintings bristle with energy and emotion; her staccato brushwork, rich color palette and pervading sense of light and composition are at once elegant and rebellious.