Francie Hester Paintings
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
Axis A
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Portal 23 #4
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 Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Panel
Portal 23 #3
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 Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Panel
Confluence 22 C
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 Paintings
Materials
Wax, Acrylic, Panel
Confluence 23 B
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 Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Panel, Wax
Confluence 23 A
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 Paintings
Materials
Wax, Acrylic, Panel
Confluence 22 D
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 Paintings
Materials
Wax, Acrylic, Panel
Convex 23-A
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Convex 23-A (2023)
Acrylic and cold way on three segments of Aluminum
29 Inches
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.
Sculpture / Painting / Sanding / Aluminum / Silver / White / Blue / Green / Yellow / Segments / Geometric
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 Paintings
Materials
Wax, Acrylic
Axis 26
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 20
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 9
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 13
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 48
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 47
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 46
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 45
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 41
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 40
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 36
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 35
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 33
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 29
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 23
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 21
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 19
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 18
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 17
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 15
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 8
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 6
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Axis 4
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Vessel 22 #1
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic paint and wax on steel. 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. The Redefine series ...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Paintings
Materials
Steel
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 Paintings
Materials
Glass, Mixed Media, Acrylic
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal, Wire
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 Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Glass, Mixed Media
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal, Wire
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal, Wire
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 Paintings
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 Paintings
Materials
Paper, Wax, 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 Paintings
Materials
Glass, Mixed Media, Acrylic
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 Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Glass, Mixed Media
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 Paintings
Materials
Glass, Mixed Media, Acrylic
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 Paintings
Materials
Paper, Mixed Media, Wax, Acrylic
Daily Drawing Series - 40 Days, original drawings, large scale installation
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
The discipline of creating a drawing each day is a process, like a written diary, to clear the mind, to declutter thoughts, and to observe patterns. It is a method that allows the mind a freedom to wander and drift. A visual journal becomes a safe space for personal reflection–a self-awareness
fueled by the opportunity for contemplation and immersion.
The painted surface for the drawings was created by dividing five large paintings into 40 separate pieces. I chose five paintings from my Perspective Series (1993-94), which relied on day-to-day imagery that narrated a story about shifting time and how time anchors our day. The
brush strokes of Perspectives are fluid, with muted colors – moving from deep blacks to taupe whites. Dividing these pieces was a means for me to rethink ideas and recurring images in my older work.
The very thin gold leaf applied to each piece has a wonderful amber tone. This gold leaf is from Myanmar, where it is used as decoration for Buddha or for the dome of a temple or monastery. In the drawings, the gold element relates to the sense of infinity – like the sky in an enclosed courtyard.
An architectural element is a critical component in my studio work that I wanted to carry over into these pieces. I envisioned a courtyard–a safe space that opens up to the sky. Unfolding circles define the beginnings of an open interior space. The process felt open-ended. It was an opportunity to get lost in thought and to give me an opportunity to reflect, muse and declutter my thinking. Then repeat. 40 days...
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Paintings
Materials
Paper, Mixed Media, Wax, Acrylic
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
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 Paintings
Materials
Wax, Acrylic, Paper
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 Paintings
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 Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Paper, Wax
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 Paintings
Materials
Metal
Unfolding K, cool toned and silver abstract 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 expl...
Category
2010s Contemporary Francie Hester Paintings
Materials
Metal
Strata 23-A
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic, aluminum leaf, and wax on aluminum panel.
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Paintings
Materials
Wax, Acrylic, Panel
Strata 22 Set 2
By Francie Hester
Located in New York, NY
Acrylic, aluminum leaf, and wax on aluminum panel.
Category
2010s Abstract Francie Hester Paintings
Materials
Wax, Acrylic, Panel
Francie Hester paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Francie Hester paintings 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 paintings, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Andrei Petrov, Margaret Neill, and Teodora Guererra. Francie Hester paintings 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.