This show is about the relationship between mother and daughter, the language they share and the ways they speak to their experience through large scale abstract painting. Much like the relationship between mother and daughter, the creative process does not stem from calculations or formulas but by reaching instinctive levels of reaction and response. Informed by their close bond, the painters’ works record a dialog between the two—taking cues from one another, exploring and negotiating their personal journeys.

Both artists draw from organic and figurative forms.
Donohue’s work includes figures and loosely interpreted coastal and cityscapes, along with classical, harmonic abstract expressionism.
Lewis-Smith, whose abstract expressionist perspective both predates and colors her experience of motherhood, ventures here into more movement-oriented themes, like her momentum series and windows and doors.

Although creating is not always magical, there is a point of quickening in the process that gives life to a piece. Being sensitive to these moments is magical. This magic is exemplified in the relationship between mother and daughter as they nurture and encourage their distinct journeys, separately and together.