Hemlock 1956

Joan Mitchell made "Hemlock" with paint, layering and swiping whites and greens to conjure up a feeling, an atmosphere, or a memory. The thick strokes of dark greens and turquoises give way to airy whites, like glancing through branches toward the sky. I imagine her wrestling with the canvas, trying to pin down something so fleeting, so sensory. It feels like she’s chasing after a moment, pushing the paint around, adding and subtracting until she’s got it just right. Mitchell’s color sense is amazing. She's pulling all these greens from a deep well inside herself. Her greens seem to be shouting out to de Kooning’s pinks. Artists are always in conversation with each other, riffing off of each other’s ideas, it's a big game of telephone over time. The painting embodies an experience, a feeling. It embraces the messy, uncertain aspects of life. It invites you to bring your own experiences to it.