Grand Valley

In thefinal, absorbing volume of his Three Paintings Trilogy, philosopher and criticMorgan Meis explores the art of Joan Mitchell and in particular one of hercrowning achievements, the Grand Valley series. Mitchell, atwentieth-century American artist who found herself living and working inFrance, is a figure of contradictionsat once formidable and fragile, solitaryand hungry for human connection. The GrandValley paintings, born from a memory not her own, become a focal point forunderstanding Mitchells approach to abstraction and landscape. Meis examinesthe pain and, at times, even violence within Mitchells work, connecting it toher turbulent life and the critical interpretations of her art (including herstruggle to be treated as seriously as her male peers).As withthe previous acclaimed volumes in this trilogy, Meis begins with a work of artand moves outward toward history, philosophy, and religion to provide contextand insight. With his characteristically disarming wit and linguisticplayfulness, Meis investigates the idea of the artists self, drawing upon themystical aspects of Carl Jungs thought and discovering parallels betweenMitchell and obsessive creators like Claude Monet and Gertrude Stein. Humorousand accessible, yet always willing to grapple with the most vexing andchallenging issues of human finitude, The Grand Valley brings aninnovative trilogy to a rich and satisfying conclusion.