Beauvais – Joan Mitchell. Photo: The Estate of Joan Mitchell
The Espace Louis Vuitton Beijing is presenting Painting From Nature, a compelling dialogue between two visionary painters. The artists, Joan Mitchell is a towering figure of American Abstract Expressionism, and Megan Rooney, a dynamic voice in contemporary art.
This exhibition is part of the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s Hors-les-murs program, which brings works from its prestigious Collection to audiences around the world through its spaces in Tokyo, Munich, Venice, Beijing, Seoul, and Osaka.
Colourful Strokes
Megan Rooney, Eyes on Arcadia, 2022-2023. Photo: Eva Herzog
In celebration of the centenary of Joan Mitchell’s birth, this exhibition juxtaposes her emotionally charged, gestural landscapes with Rooney’s immersive, performative paintings. Though separated by generation and geography, both artists share a profound relationship with nature, light, colour, and the physical act of painting.
Mitchell, who lived between the U.S. and France, drew deep inspiration from the landscapes of Vétheuil and the legacies of Monet and Van Gogh. Her sweeping brushwork and vibrant palette are infused with memory, music, and poetry, expressing a deeply personal vision of the world around her.
Two Sunflowers – Joan Mitchell. Photo: The Estate of Joan Mitchell
Rooney, born in South Africa and based in London, engages painting as a living, bodily process. Her large-scale works and painted environments evolve through a choreography of materials—oil, acrylic, pastel—responding to space and movement. Often bordering on the sculptural and performative, her practice blurs the line between abstraction and figuration, fiction and lived experience.
Together, Mitchell and Rooney demonstrate the power of painting to translate the natural world into an experience of colour, rhythm, and emotion. Painting From Nature invites visitors to explore the visual and sensory conversations between these two artists, and to witness the evolving legacy of abstract, expressive painting.
Experience the artworks of these creatives at the Espace Louis Vuitton Beijing, China World Mall South Zone W.Bldg.,1 Jian‘guomenwai Ave., Beijing.
