“…In Mitchell’s hands, pastel becomes an instrument of unruly precision and opposing hues. In her works on paper, with their swift tenacious lines, scumbled fields, decisive layering, and optical collisions, the viewer has an intimate encounter with a sumptuous but harsh lyricism that constantly courts but never succumbs to chaos.”

J. Yau, “Larger than Life,” Joan Mitchell Works on Paper 1956-1992, exh. cat., Cheim & Read, New York, 2007.