Francie Hester Art
American
The art of Francie Hester evokes the feeling of a secret or memory being uncovered. Her contemporary abstract pieces may seem chaotic at first, but patterns begin to emerge upon closer inspection. Using mathematical and geometric principles, Hester creates paintings, drawings and sculptures that strive to bring order to chaos and draw out the unknowable.
Born in 1959, Hester focused on art from an early age. She earned a BFA from the University of Michigan in 1982 and an MFA from the University of Maryland in 1994. She held her first solo exhibition at Anton Gallery in Monterey, California, in 2006 and has since exhibited across the country and around the world.
Hester also creates large-scale public commissions. One of her most well-known site-specific works is Wordfall, a 2016 installation for the lobby of the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The stunning piece, which drapes down from the high ceiling, is made from over 80,000 paperclips wrapped in the words of poetry from Brendan Ogg, a young cancer victim.
Hester is the recipient of several honorary grants, including from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Arts Council of Montgomery County and the Maryland State Arts Counsel. Her paintings and sculptures are held in many private and corporate collections, including those of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, Capital One and Ernst & Young.
Hester lives and works in Boulder, Colorado, and Silver Springs, Maryland, and is represented by Susan Eley Fine Art in New York. In 2022, she was one of the featured artists at an exhibition presented by the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts in California called "The Most Beautiful Mistake You Can Make." A perfect fit for Hester's work, the show explored how random errors can stimulate artistic creativity.
On 1stDibs, find Francie Hester paintings, drawings, sculptures and more.
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Artist: Francie Hester
Vessel #2, multicolored mixed media sculptural piece, textured, 22" diameter
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic paint and aluminum leaf on acrylic glass. 22" diameter.
This is a time that has forced us to redefine. Redefine how we live, how we interact, how we see, what we value. Th...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Glass, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Vessel 22 #3, blue and green mixed media sculptural piece, textured,
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic paint and aluminum leaf on acrylic glass. 36" diameter.
This is a time that has forced us to redefine. Redefine how we live, how we interact, how we see, what we value. Th...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Glass, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Vessel #3, multicolored mixed media sculptural piece, textured, 22" diameter
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic paint and aluminum leaf on acrylic glass. 22" diameter.
This is a time that has forced us to redefine. Redefine how we live, how we interact, how we see, what we value. Th...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Glass, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Axis A (sculptural, layered, blue, painting, abstract, patterns)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 41 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Vessel A-21, warm copper mixed media sculptural piece, textured, 36" diameter
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic paint and aluminum leaf on acrylic glass. 36" diameter.
This is a time that has forced us to redefine. Redefine how we live, how we interact, how we see, what we value. Th...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Glass, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Portal 23 #3 (sculptural, layered, painting, abstract, patterns, organic)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Portal 23 #3 (2023)
Acrylic, wax, and aluminum leaf on paper
8" x 8" unframed
15" x 15" framed
Hester’s practice is a meditation on both her personal and our collective pasts. Throughout her works, Hester consistently acknowledges the seemingly opposing forces that build our daily lives—creating an atmosphere abounding with both elegy and rejuvenation.
The artist’s technique of painting on each substrate—paper, plexiglass and aluminum—goes far beyond conventional brushwork. Through a painstaking and physical process, she applies and removes acrylic paint with the use of sanders, hammers, routers and drills, in a continual process of building, breaking and rebuilding. Surprisingly, even the works on paper are sanded. Surfaces are mottled and textured, scraped and punctured. Layer upon layer of striated, thick colors dance astride more delicate patterned areas, created with collaged bits of metal leaf and complex cross-hatching marks. Yet, strikingly, the eye finds places of rest as colors and patterns conjoin harmoniously, and chaos and control share spaces.
Painting / Work on paper / Texture / Silver / Blue /
About the Artist:
Francie Hester works principally on sculpted aluminum, steel and plexiglass, in a process-based practice that builds pixelated and vibrant pigments in deep layers with patterns of drips, grids and fragmented shapes that are then deconstructed through sanding, scraping, drilling and cutting to reveal the finished, textured surfaces.
Her work has been exhibited internationally in Jordan, Ulaanbaatar, Ireland, and Costa Rica, and in solo exhibitions with Susan Eley...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Acrylic, Panel
Portal 23 #4 (sculptural, layered, painting, abstract, patterns, organic)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Portal 23 #4 (2023)
Acrylic, wax, and aluminum leaf on paper.
8" x 8" unframed
15" x 15" framed
Hester’s practice is a meditation on both her personal and our collective pasts. Throughout her works, Hester consistently acknowledges the seemingly opposing forces that build our daily lives—creating an atmosphere abounding with both elegy and rejuvenation.
The artist’s technique of painting on each substrate—paper, plexiglass and aluminum—goes far beyond conventional brushwork. Through a painstaking and physical process, she applies and removes acrylic paint with the use of sanders, hammers, routers and drills, in a continual process of building, breaking and rebuilding. Surprisingly, even the works on paper are sanded. Surfaces are mottled and textured, scraped and punctured. Layer upon layer of striated, thick colors dance astride more delicate patterned areas, created with collaged bits of metal leaf and complex cross-hatching marks. Yet, strikingly, the eye finds places of rest as colors and patterns conjoin harmoniously, and chaos and control share spaces.
Painting / Silver/ Texture / Work on paper / Abstract /
About the Artist:
Francie Hester works principally on sculpted aluminum, steel and plexiglass, in a process-based practice that builds pixelated and vibrant pigments in deep layers with patterns of drips, grids and fragmented shapes that are then deconstructed through sanding, scraping, drilling and cutting to reveal the finished, textured surfaces.
Her work has been exhibited internationally in Jordan, Ulaanbaatar, Ireland, and Costa Rica, and in solo exhibitions with Susan Eley...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Acrylic, Panel
Axis 29 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 47 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Crossing Lines #15, abstract mixed media painting on aluminum, multicolored
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Crossing Lines
The exhibition also includes Crossing Lines, a series created in collaboration with interdisciplinary artist Lisa Hill. This series draws on the literal and figurati...
Category
2010s Contemporary Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal, Wire
Intertwined N, multicolored mixed media painting on aluminum
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Painter Francie Hester, born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, lives and works outside of Washington, DC. In 1999, Hester abandoned the traditional practice of painting on canvas to explore the properties of painting on aluminum...
Category
2010s Contemporary Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Crossing Lines #2, abstract mixed media painting on aluminum panel, green
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Crossing Lines
The exhibition also includes Crossing Lines, a series created in collaboration with interdisciplinary artist Lisa Hill. This series draws on the literal and figurati...
Category
2010s Contemporary Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal, Wire
Vessel #4, multicolored mixed media sculptural piece, textured, 22" diameter
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic paint and aluminum leaf on acrylic glass. 22" diameter.
This is a time that has forced us to redefine. Redefine how we live, how we interact, how we see, what we value. Th...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Glass, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Crossing Lines #3, abstract mixed media painting on aluminum panel, blue tones
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Crossing Lines
The exhibition also includes Crossing Lines, a series created in collaboration with interdisciplinary artist Lisa Hill. This series draws on the literal and figurati...
Category
2010s Contemporary Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal, Wire
Intertwined 20-2, small mixed media work on paper, yellow and silver
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic, wax and aluminum leaf on paper. 15.5" x 15.5" framed.
Shown at VOLTA New York 2020. Aluminum leaf shines in the light.
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Paper, Mixed Media, Wax, Acrylic
Axis 24 #1 (abstract, sculptural, neutral, earth tones patterns, lines)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Plexiglass, Acrylic
Confluence 23 B (sculptural, layered, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Confluence 23 B (2023)
Acrylic, aluminum leaf, and wax on aluminum panel
50 x 42 inches
Hester’s practice is a meditation on both her personal and our collective pasts. Throughout h...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Wax, Acrylic, Panel
Confluence 23 A (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Confluence 23 B (2023)
Acrylic, aluminum leaf, and wax on aluminum panel
50 x 42 inches
Hester’s practice is a meditation on both her personal and our collective pasts. Throughout h...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Wax, Acrylic, Panel
Confluence 22 D (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Confluence 22 D (2022)
Acrylic, aluminum leaf, and wax on aluminum panel
50 x 42 inches
Hester’s practice is a meditation on both her personal and our collective pasts. Throughout h...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Wax, Acrylic, Panel
Confluence 22 C (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Confluence 22 C (2022)
Acrylic, aluminum leaf, and wax on aluminum panel
50 x 42 inches
Hester’s practice is a meditation on both her personal and our collective pasts. Throughout h...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Wax, Acrylic, Panel
Axis 48 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 46 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 45 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 40 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 36 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 35 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 33 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 26 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 23 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 21 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 20 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 19 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 18 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 17 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 15 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 8 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 9 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 6 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Axis 4 (sculptural, texture, painting, abstract, patterns, geometric)
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
In the “Axis” series, recollection pivots around vivid, etched markers of moments, days, events—an axis of reference points. The work’s surfaces are integral to this exploration—the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Crossing Lines #11, abstract mixed media painting on aluminum, red and white
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Crossing Lines
The exhibition also includes Crossing Lines, a series created in collaboration with interdisciplinary artist Lisa Hill. This series draws on...
Category
2010s Contemporary Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal, Wire
Confluence #17, small mixed media work on paper, neutral tones and black
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Confluence continues the dialogue of the Daily Drawing Series, a visual diary that integrates day-to-day imagery to narrate a story about shifting time. In Confluence, the layering of fragmented and unfolding circles -- the underpinning for each piece -- defines a sense of deep and evolving space...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Paper, Wax, Acrylic
Confluence #6, small abstract work on paper, multicolored and silver
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Confluence continues the dialogue of the Daily Drawing Series, a visual diary that integrates day-to-day imagery to narrate a story about shifting time. In Confluence, the layering o...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Paper, Wax, Acrylic
Confluence #4, small abstract work on paper, multicolored and silver
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Confluence continues the dialogue of the Daily Drawing Series, a visual diary that integrates day-to-day imagery to narrate a story about shifting time. In Confluence, the layering o...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Paper, Wax, Acrylic
Confluence #3, small abstract work on paper, multicolored and silver
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Confluence continues the dialogue of the Daily Drawing Series, a visual diary that integrates day-to-day imagery to narrate a story about shifting time. In Confluence, the layering of fragmented and unfolding circles -- the underpinning for each piece -- defines a sense of deep and evolving space...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Art
Materials
Paper, Wax, Acrylic
Unfolding H, white and multicolored abstract painting on aluminum, mixed media
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Painter Francie Hester, born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, lives and works outside of Washington, DC. In 1999, Hester abandoned the traditional practice of painting on canvas to expl...
Category
2010s Contemporary Francie Hester Art
Materials
Metal
Francie Hester art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Francie Hester art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Francie Hester in acrylic paint, paint, synthetic resin paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Francie Hester art, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of William Finlayson, Matthew Dibble, and Jill Moser. Francie Hester art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $700 and tops out at $46,000, while the average work can sell for $1,725.