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La Grand Vallée VII belongs to a triumphal series of twenty one large-scale paintings that Joan Mitchell painted between 1983-84—a powerful and emotional body of work that is widely regarded to be a highpoint of her long and distinguished career. Across two towering canvases the artist assembles a torrent of rapid, colorful brushstrokes that coalesce into a mystical landscape, a place that is of particular resonance to both the artist and those close to her. Yet, this is much more than an abstract representation of an actual place, it is a manifestation of the presence of that place, encompassing not only the physical beauty of the landscape itself, but also the feelings of emotion, happiness and loss that are associated with it too. One of only five diptychs in the series, La Grand Vallée is distinguished by dense thickets of explosive color that weave their way across the picture plane, evoking growth or the transition of seasons. Rendered with the artist’s signature impassioned gesture and luminosity, the painting is a masterwork from one of the most influential visionaries of the Abstract Expressionist movement at the height of her powers. 

 
https://www.christies.com/features/Expert-view-Joan-Mitchell-La-Grande-Vallee-VII-10548-7.aspx

1983
La Grande Vallée VII
1983
Oil on canvas
259.7 x 260.6 cm
Private Collection