Gary Wragg reflects on the late paintings of Joan Mitchell, on view at Hauser & Wirth, London through April 28, 2012.

Wragg writes that Mitchell's last paintings express "a feel of an embrace and exuberance, a generosity and love of the outdoors, of air, light and being enveloped… Her work has been little seen here in the UK. In the contemporary climate with so much work stifling, airless and digitally confined… she is quite a breath of fresh air.