Joan Mitchell, Tilleul (Linden Tree), 1977, 37 x 29 inches, oil on canvas
Two wonderful exhibitions in Chelsea feature artists of the same generation but somewhat different worlds: Joan Mitchell: Trees at Cheim & Read (through August 29, 2014), and Robert De Niro Sr, Paintings and Drawings, 1948-1989 at DC Moore (through July 31, 2014). Both artists build paintings of exquisite beauty out of the rawest materiality of the medium and the language. Both retained throughout their lives an essential connection to the impulses and structures of observed reality. Both sustained their dogged individualism and dedication in the face of considerable marginalization. Without exception, their canvases breathe with the deepest exuberance and love.
Joan Mitchell, Trees, 1990-91, 94 x 157 inches, oil on canvas
Joan Mitchell, First Cypress, 1964, 88 x 78 inches, oil on canvas
Joan Mitchell, Cypresses, 1975, 77 x 102 inches, oil on canvas
Joan Mitchell, Red Tree, 1976, 103 x 63 inches, oil on canvas
Joan Mitchell, Trees, 1990-91, 87 x 157 inches, oil on canvas
Robert De Niro Sr, Still Life w/ Vase of Flowers, Lemons, Chair, Guitar, 1989, 34 x 40 inches, oil on linen
Robert De Niro Sr, St. Juste-en-Chavelet, 1963, 28 x 23 inches, oil on linen
Robert De Niro Sr, Nude with Green Pants, 1970, 36 x 28 inches, oil on linen
Robert De Niro Sr, Untitled Still Life with Chair, 1960, 54 x 38 inches, oil on linen
Robert De Niro Sr, Birdcage, 2 Vases and Flowers, 1981, 40 x 30 inches, oil on linen
