Tilleul 1978

Editor: Joan Mitchell’s *Tilleul*, created in 1978 with acrylic paint, really bursts off the canvas. The way the blues and blacks are layered over the yellow feels so energetic and almost chaotic. How do you approach understanding a piece like this? Curator: Looking at *Tilleul*, I'm drawn to the application of the paint itself. Mitchell's impasto technique, that thick layering, it isn't just about representation; it's about the physical act of painting. We need to think about where she sourced her materials. Where was the paint manufactured? What kind of labor was involved in preparing the canvas? Those questions root the art in a material and social reality. Do you see how the drips are allowed to remain? Editor: I do, it seems so intentional. I've always wondered, in abstract expressionism, how much is planned versus chance? Curator: That tension between control and accident is critical. The materiality – the very fluidity of the paint, the size of the brushstrokes – dictates a certain lack of complete control. But even the 'accidental' drips become part of the intentional composition. Consider what this says about her relationship with her studio. Was she mass-producing work? What can the scale and frenetic nature of this piece reveal about the conditions of its production? Editor: So, the materials and the way they're handled offer a commentary beyond just the visual experience, about production and… the artist's life perhaps? Curator: Precisely. *Tilleul* asks us to consider the artistic process not as isolated genius, but as embedded within a broader economic and social context. The choices of material and the embrace of the unplanned open up that dialogue. Editor: I hadn’t considered the labour aspect before – this has completely changed how I see the painting! Curator: Thinking about the creation, circulation, and even the consumption of art enriches our understanding. We're not just looking at beauty; we're engaging with a material history.