Through August 14, 2022, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) presents Joan Mitchell, a retrospective of the internationally renowned artist who attained critical acclaim and success in the male-dominated art circles of 1950s New York, then spent nearly four decades in France creating breathtaking abstract paintings that evoke landscapes, memories, poetry, and music. This comprehensive exhibition features 70 works spanning the artist’s career, including rarely seen early paintings and drawings, vibrant gestural paintings that established her reputation in New York, and enormous multi-panel masterpieces from her later years that immerse viewers with their symphonic color.
Numerous loans from public and private collections in the U.S. and Europe include works that have not been shown publicly in decades and never in a single exhibition. The BMA’s presentation also includes many archival photographs, letters, poems, and other materials from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, providing additional context about the development of the artist’s work and influences. The BMA is the only East Coast venue for Joan Mitchell.
The exhibition and its accompanying catalogue have established a new depth of scholarship and understanding about Mitchell’s work as a transnational artist, as well as her profound impact on the trajectory of art. “Across her life, Joan Mitchell experimented with how painting could embody physical experience and capture a wide range of emotions—including grief, sensual pleasure, humor, joy, and a kind of metaphysical soaring in the face of death—as well as connections to people and places,” said Katy Siegel, BMA Senior Programming & Research Curator and Thaw Chair of Modern Art at Stony Brook University.
The Joan Mitchell exhibition includes an immersive soundscape featuring quotes taken from Mitchell’s writing and interviews voiced by actor Nadine Malouf, literature significant to the artist read by poet Eileen Myles, and music dear to Mitchell, from jazz standards to opera. The experience is optimized for headphones in the gallery and accessible for visitors through an app on their mobile device or a player borrowed from the museum.
Tickets are available through artbma.org. Prices are $15 (Adults), $13 (Seniors), $12 (Groups of 7 or more), $5 (Students with ID), and $5 (Youth ages 7-18). BMA Members, children ages 6 and under, and student groups are admitted free. The BMA is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursdays to 9 p.m. For more information, call 443-573-1701.
The Baltimore Museum of Art connects art to Baltimore and Baltimore to the world, embodying a commitment to artistic excellence and social equity in every decision from art presentation, interpretation, and collecting—creating a museum welcoming to all.
Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA is home to 95,000 works, spanning the art of ancient Egypt to some of the most significant works of today. Our internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art includes the largest holding of Henri Matisse’s works in a public institution, alongside important examples of artistic expression from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific Islands.
