Le Musée des Beaux Arts de Caen, France, presents "À la lumière de Joan Mitchell"

Milena Glicenstein, deputy director of Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen, writes:

“The story of Joan Mitchell is intimately linked to France. In 1967, she bought a property in Vétheuil (Val d'Oise) and began working with the gallery owner Jean Fournier, with whom she continued to collaborate until her death in 1992. The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen initiated a collaboration with Mitchell during this last part of her career, and preserves three paintings by the artist: two paintings from the series Champs (both 1990) and the diptych The Sky is Blue, the Grass is Green (1972).

“In these three canvases, Mitchell demonstrates her great mastery of a style of gestural painting where she lets the colors collide, with strong contrasts. The canvases are filled with references to the changing atmosphere and landscape. As she stated in an interview in 1958: ‘I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me — and remembered feelings of them, which of course become transformed.’

“We find this attention to interior landscapes in the work of all the artists who make up this hanging as a tribute to Joan Mitchell—many of whom have known her and admired her work. Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, Monique Frydman, Pierre Soulages, and Olivier Debré, among others, find their place at her side.”

À la lumière de Joan Mitchell [In the light of Joan Mitchell] is on view at Musée des Beaux Arts de Caen from December 5, 2025 – March 15, 2026. See more at the museum's website.