Joan Mitchell, a woman in abstraction

A painter of emotions, space, and landscapes, Joan Mitchell was one of the few female painters in the American Abstract Expressionist movement. Arriving in New York in the late 1940s, she immersed herself in the vibrant art scene, working alongside Pollock, De Kooning, and Franz Kline, contributing to a foundational period in American art history. Few women were admitted to the Artist’s Club, but through her talent and uncompromising personality, Joan Mitchell made her mark, participating in the post-war Ninth Street Show.

In 1959, she moved to France with her partner, Quebec painter Jean-Paul Riopelle, joining the homeland of the painters she had admired since childhood, such as Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Claude Monet. Living in Vétheuil, near Monet’s former home, Joan Mitchell developed a unique body of work that spanned abstraction and impressionism until her death.

Using previously unseen archives, this documentary explores Mitchell’s vibrant work, filled with bursts of color, as well as the darker, more vulnerable aspects of her character, hidden behind a tough exterior. The writer Paul Auster and composer Gisèle Barreau share their personal insights into Joan Mitchell, guiding us through her work. Curators Katy Siegel and Sarah Roberts, who organized the largest-ever exhibition devoted to Mitchell in the United States and France, provide keys to understanding her paintings, rich with emotions and memories, and her love for poetry, music, and nature.