Untitled 1962

This Untitled painting, by Joan Mitchell, shows us how a painting practice can really be a form of thinking. Look at how she’s used these broad swathes of color, like dark greens and vibrant oranges, smearing them together in a way that feels both chaotic and completely in control. The texture is alive, the paint’s physicality right there on the surface. You can almost feel the bristles of her brush as she flicked paint across the canvas, leaving trails like sparks or scattered thoughts. Notice those fine white lines slashing through the green. They're like moments of clarity cutting through a dense forest. Mitchell reminds me a bit of Cy Twombly, both of them dancing on that edge between abstraction and something recognizable, pulling us into a world where feeling trumps seeing. It’s not about answering questions, it’s about opening them up.