“Riled up and full of fanning, stuttering shapes, [the early works] suggest the late work of Arshile Gorky forced through a Futurist sieve, a desire to combine old-fashioned bravura brushwork with Pollock's newfangled all-over composition. In their frequent use of primary colors with black and white, they also indicate a certain attention to Mondrian's palette.”
Roberta Smith, “Art In Review: Joan Mitchell,” The New York t.mes
s, 22 May 1998, Online