Rachell Hester

"Below the Surface" A Haunting Infrared Silver Gelatin Photograph of Big Sur

2019

Rachell Hester is a painter and photographer based in Monterey, CA. The natural world is a pivotal force in her artwork. Rachell explores the wooded trails in Monterey County and the Big Sur coastline with her camera, often capturing vistas that are off-limits to most people. Using film photography and alternative processes such as solarization and infrared film, Rachell spends many hours in the darkroom controlling the development of a photograph. Through this intentional distortion, she creates haunting compositions depicting scenes and marine life abstractions that don’t naturally exist. ​Rachell has a BA in Visual Art from CSU Monterey Bay and an MFA in Pictorial Art from San Jose State University. Her artwork has been exhibited in the CSUMB Chancellor’s Office and in a solo show at the Pacific Grove Art Center. She received two Weston Collective awards in the Roman Loranc Fine Art Photography category several years in a row. During her Master’s studies, she was awarded the 2022 Murphy and Cadogan Contemporary Art Scholarship at SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco. She was an Artist-in-Residence at the American Tin Cannery in Pacific Grove and was a recipient of the Local Emerging Artist Program (LEAP) Grant from the Arts Council for Monterey County.