Francie Hester Studio

Live from Miami!

2011-01-08T14:27:00.005-05:00

So I might not be technically live from Miami, but here is a video from the Red Dot tent where I was showing my work with EA Gallery. It was a great success -- selling 15 paintings! http://artmiami.tv/red-dot-arrives-at-affordable/

Timepiece Series - will be showing at Miami Art Basel DEC 1-5!

2010-10-18T15:11:00.009-04:00

Timepiece Series

This series is inspired by the earliest of timepieces, an astrolabe. The
astrolabe or “star-holder” is an ancient instrument that was used at night
to locate the positions of stars, sun, moon and the planets for navigation.
The complexity of its mathematical design enabled the holder of the
astrolabe to calculate time and predict sunrise and sunset.
The night sky seems so random; but the ancient astrolabe was a means
to interpret and order the vast celestial sky as a way to understand and
mark time. It drew order out of seeming chaos and random events. It
serves as a symbol of the understanding and meaning of time.

Weaving Community & Culture: Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza

2010-10-17T23:35:00.015-04:00

ARTIST STATEMENT Weaving Community and Culture reflects upon the community of Silver Spring. The Civic Building is a testament to our ongoing commitment to the community and to the desire to create opportunities for the arts to flourish. The local community has a rich history and our strength, ultimately, is in our rich cultural diversity. For these reasons, I chose to work with a woven structure of aluminum, to signify the weaving together of our diverse cultures.

The color palette is based loosely on the colors of flags from around the world — a tangible means of capturing the diversity that one sees in Silver Spring.

The surfaces of the aluminum panels vary—some portions are painted, while other areas are polished and drilled. The resulting mosaic of color, energy and spirit is meant to capture the best of this community.

ARTIST BIO

Francie Hester has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally. Her work is represented in numerous private and corporate collections, including the World Bank, Freddie Mac, Capital One, KPMG, and the International Monetary Fund. She has received honorary grants from the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and from the Arts Council of Montgomery County, Maryland. Hester’s commissioned works include a 1996 piece for the Ginetta Sagan Fund of Amnesty International and an 18-foot atrium piece for the Chicago Kent College of Law. In addition, she has created large-scale sculptural aluminum paintings for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Booz Allen Hamilton and National Endowment for the Arts Member Benefits. She received her M.F.A. in painting from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a B.F.A. in painting from the University of Michigan. She lives in Silver Spring with her family. 2010 Materials: Acrylic, raw pigments, and wax on aluminum honey-combed panel. Weaving Community and Culture The color palette is based loosely on the colors of flags from around the world — a tangible means of capturing the diversity that one sees in Silver Spring.

Waterline Series

2009-11-24T23:40:00.030-05:00

Waterline Series

Waterline: The level reached by the sea or a river visible as a line on a rock face, beach, or riverbank.

A body of water, regardless of its size, leaves but a simple line as its marking. The Waterline series contemplates the inherent beauty, simplicity and meaning derived from these natural markings; and how these simple lines deposit a message from which a global discussion begins – climate change.

The shifting of lines, the rise and fall of water levels, becomes the foundation for this series. The visual imagery reflects on the beauty of water – the color changes, the tidal rhythms, the clarity of water, and its ever-changing nature. The first layer is created by pouring paint to create lines upon lines, alluding to the natural flow of water. Drilled holes, and the lines that pull them together, refer to the fluctuation of waterlines connecting our planet. The objective is a contemplation on the natural structure of waterlines and how the story they create unfolds one line at a time.

Francie Hester

Texere Series

2009-11-24T22:41:00.004-05:00

Texere:
ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting a woven fabric or something resembling this): from Latin textura ‘weaving,’ from text- ‘woven,’ from the verb texere.

Each of us weaves a path through a day, through a life, that creates a unique pattern. Texere examines the play of life as patchwork -- how different pieces deriving from contrasting perspectives can be woven together to form a whole. Each painting begins as a grid of paint drips, acknowledging the need for order and for understanding the pace of day-to-day life. The sense of life unfolds at a pace that is unpredictable and is reflected in the vibrancy of the colors and patterns. In contrast, a color bar in each piece -- thin lines – alludes to the thought that life may be predetermined. The corners are pierced with four equal holes, a recognition of the grid, of a painting as an object, and of the material itself -- the aluminum panel.

Francie Hester

(click image to open gallery)

Timepiece Series

2009-11-23T23:40:00.008-05:00