Home Journal Joan Mitchell Centennial Symposium at Art Institute of Chicago

Joan Mitchell Centennial Symposium at Art Institute of Chicago

From October 23-24, 2025, the Art Institute of Chicago, in collaboration with the Joan Mitchell Foundation, presented the Joan Mitchell Centennial Symposium: a two-day scholarly convening bringing together artists, writers, curators, and conservators to share new research and perspectives on Mitchell's practice.

The program began on Thursday, Oct 23, with a public keynote address by Sarah Roberts, the Foundation's Senior Director of Curatorial Affairs, in conversation with Art Institute curator Caitlin Haskell. The two closely examined a selection of paintings representing key moments in Mitchell’s practice, spanning from the 1940s to the 1990s. A full recording is available on the Art Institute’s YouTube channel.

The symposium continued on Friday with presentations organized into three themes. The first group explored Joan Mitchell and language, approached from different angles. Mara Hoberman, Senior Researcher, Joan Mitchell Foundation Catalogue Raisonné, compared critical writing on Mitchell in New York and Paris, while art historian Brian T. Leahy traced the evolution of Mitchell’s mark-making alongside rhetoric on her work. Rachel Cohen, a writer and creative writing professor, examined Mitchell’s letter writing practice in the context of the New York School, and art critic and writer John Yau explored the writing practice of Mitchell’s mother, Marion Strobel.

A large square abstract painting sits on a rolling dolly platform, as a white woman with grey hair, wearing glasses and dark clothing gestures towards a detail in the painting in front of a seated audience.
Kim Muir discusses Joan Mitchell’s process in City Landscape, 1955. Photo by Melissa Dean.

Under the theme “Mitchell Paints a Picture,” Art Institute of Chicago conservators Kim Muir and Katrina Rush shared insights into Mitchell’s painting process, while Ana Alba (Carnegie Museum of Art) and Roxy Sperber (Newfields, Indianapolis) shared new methods for painting restoration. Art history PhD candidate Cora Chalaby offered context for Mitchell’s chosen medium of oil painting in the 1970s, and Mark Pascale, curator of Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute, unpacked Mitchell’s approach to printmaking.

A final group of presentations featured Marin Sarvé-Tarr (SFMOMA), John Corbett (Corbett+Dempsey), and Thea Liberty Nichols (Art Institute of Chicago) offering context on Mitchell’s formative years in Chicago, including the role of Art Institute’s collections in shaping her understanding of painting and her summers spent at Ox-Bow School of Art. Chicago artist Amanda Williams reflected on commonalities between her own work and Mitchell’s approach to color and place.

A large abstract painting is projected on a large screen in front of an audience. To the right of the screen, a Black woman with short dark hair at a podium looks towards the projection.
Amanda Williams reflects on commonalities between her own work and Mitchell’s approach to color and place. Photo by Melissa Dean.

The symposium concluded with a synthesis by curator Katy Siegel, and an open discussion of topics yet to be explored.

Thank you to all of the presenters and attendees for your contributions to this deep dive into Mitchell’s context and practice. Recaps of many presentations are available on the Foundation’s Instagram: @joanmitchellfdn.