Mother/Daughter Artistic Duo to Display Artwork at Orchard Gallery

Mother and daughter artists Lida Matheson Stifel and Torrey Stifel Kist will exhibit together for the first time since 1997 May 13 when their show "Patterns/Changes/Movements" opens at the in downtown Bethesda. The show runs from May 13 - June 2 and includes over 40 oil and acrylic paintings, as well as mixed media, including collage and graphite on paper and canvas. An artsit's reception is planned for 6-8:30p.m. Friday.

Stifel, now a North Potomac resident, encouraged her daughter's artistic drive from an early age, as she poured over schoolwork in her mother's Adams Morgan studio in Washington, D.C.

"I never critiqued her," said Stifel. "I think she just learned how to be an artist through osmosis. Her education, particularly her time at the Savannah College for Art and Design (SCAD), have dramatically changed the direction of her work."

While both mother and daughter work in an abstract vein, Kist's work explores the limits of control, both thematically and formally. Her graduate thesis at SCAD was a critique of the medical industry's reach in the U.S. and the ready availability of pills to remedy any personal or social ill. Stifel's work has evolved from traditional roots to a looser gestural style that expresses the elusive and the unconscious.

"My thesis work was from a long time ago, so I wouldn't say it's representative of my current explorations. Now my work is more abstract and tends toward process. This might sound too simple, but it just captures a mood and is expressive. I don't plan much before I start. I just wing it," said Kist, who goes by the alias T.S.

"Our work is complementary. I believe the show will bring out how we have inadvertently influenced each other. I think you develop or have a facility and then you see how far you can take it," said Stifel.

Kist chose the title for the show to reflect the constant evolution of an artist's style and approach to painting. Change is a recurring and common theme in the work of both mother and daughter, who are not afraid to experiment and push the boundaries of their media.

"Although I am not really experimenting with new media, I am really seeing what I can do with the materials I have been using over the years. I named the show 'Patterns/Changes/Movements' to reflect the recurrence of patterns that we might try to break as artists, the personal changes we go through in our careers, and the visual quality of my work and my mother's work. Sweeping lines and mark-making are prevalent in both of our paintings," Kist said.

Stifel recalls painting with Kist on the side of a road near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where her daughter went to college.

"Torrey painted a magenta sky with a lone telephone pole in the center of the composition. My reaction as a traditional colorist - at the time - was do you actually see that?!"

Stifel said she thought her daughter was going through a Fauvist phase when she was in college.

"My professors told me the same thing. The truth is that is not how I saw the sky. It was just my interpretation. To this day, color is a launching point for my work," Kist said.

Stifel has been teaching figure painting classes at the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery in Glen Echo for 16 years. Her influences include her former instructors at the Corcoran School of Art in the District, William Christenberry and Gene Davis. Her award-winning work is part of various private and public collections in the District and across the country.

Kist lives and works in Savannah, Georgia where she attended graduate school. She received a Masters of Fine Art degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and her work has been published in New American Paintings. Kist maintains gallery representation in Savannah and through an art consultant in Orlando. Before devoting most of her time to making art, Kist developed a children's and continuing education arts program at the Jepson Center in Savannah, where she also organized guest lectures and appearances by internationally renowned artists like Robert Rauchenberg. Now, along with creating her artwork, she teaches painting to children and young adults from her home studio.

This is Kist's second show at the Orchard Gallery and Stifel's fourth.

"The gallery approached us about doing a show together," said Stifel. "We showed together at the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery in 1997 and had a lot of fun, so we agreed."

Kist, who has been making her home in Savannah for quite some time now, is excited to be showing in the Washington, DC. metropolitan area.

"Savannah is a smaller community, and I know everyone there. Because of SCAD and its active art and design student base, gallery space is also limited there. I am looking forward to exposure in this community and breaking into the art scene in bigger cities," Kist said.

The Orchard Gallery is located in downtown Bethesda and encourages local and emerging artists to submit their work for review. Holding monthly shows, the gallery represents a wide variety of media and styles. On the second Friday of each month -- including on the 13th -- the gallery participates in the monthly events. In addition, the gallery provides custom framing services to both artists and collectors.