Chandler Wigton, our Associate Director of Events & Studios visited Esther in her studio to learn more about her and her practice!
Esther grew up in Turlock, CA. Her mom was a photographer, and her dad was a graphic designer. She played classical violin through high school, with a more serious interest in visual art coming a bit later, where she would draw and make work on her own, eventually leading to more focused education. In 2019 she graduated from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco with a degree in illustration, where she also fell in love with painting. She went on to get an MFA in painting from University of New Mexico, finishing in 2023.
What new art are you working on currently?
What is your process?
Her process has been changing a lot recently. Before moving to New Mexico her process involved living near family, hearing stories, looking at old family photos, and being connected to the Assyrian community in Turlock, CA. That connection to Assyrian community and her family, hasn’t been as strong of a direct presence since moving to New Mexico. The process changed again upon entering graduate school, and now once again while navigating the post-grad life and starting a family of her own. At the moment, her primary medium is painting, but she also does some sculpture and garment/textile work. For her painting, the process involves digitally sketching on an iPad. The imagery in the paintings comes from ancient Assyrian artifacts, Persian textiles, Persian carpets, and kilims. The color schemes are also based of Persian rugs. All of these elements are reworked and remixed, where she also brings in aspects from her own life, so that there are ancient and contemporary aspects to the paintings. The sculptures are large works made of Mexican tile, on plywood and cement board armature, are labor intensive works, and are born out the of the same process of reworking ancient imagery. The garment pieces are technically wearable, but more importantly, function conceptually as protective garments.
Do you have any exhibits or exciting projects coming up that you want to share, or past exhibits you want to highlight?
Esther has a show coming up at Hecho a Mano gallery in Santa Fe called The Contemporary Persian Rug. It can be viewed from April 4-28, 2025. You can read more about the work in this exhibit on the Hecho a Mano website.
She also recently had an exhibit at the Roswell Museum in 2024 titled Esther Elia: Khosh min Lakha, which is an Assyrian term and roughly translates to “go from here”. The Roswell Museum commits to showing one recent MFA grad from New Mexico a year. She had four large tiled sculptures based on ancient deities, 5 paintings, and 4 furniture pieces. The furniture pieces were based on heirlooms that her family had to leave behind when they escaped the Armenian genocide and came to the US in the 1920s. You can learn more about that exhibit here.
One other thing she highlighted was that she and her dad are currently taking Assyrian language lessons. This has been an excellent way to continue to engage with the Assyrian community while physically distanced from them.
What do you get your inspiration from?
Ancient Assyrian artifacts books are a source for Esther and important to her research. There is a lot of continuity from ancient to present in terms of imagery and she wants to explore that continuity while at the same time making the work her own. Other sources include Persian rugs and textiles in general. She loves trying new mediums that aren’t immediately in her wheelhouse because of the freedom and curiosity that comes with it, and for the opportunity for new ways to think about her ideas. Stories are also an inspiration, from family stories to ancient myths and everything in between.
What music have you been listening to lately?
She starts off the day with gospel music from Andrae Crouch, Walter Hawkins, The Clark Sisters, and others. It’s medicinal and helps her focus, and the improvisation in gospel music has a lasting impact. When working in the studio she fluctuates between music, podcasts and books on tape. Some podcasts she is listening to are Myths and Legends and Critics at Large. The books on tape she listens to often fall in the epic genre, the hero’s journey. She will play books over and over from series she knows extremely well, like Harry Potter, while working in the studio because it becomes almost trance inducing. The album Rapture by Anita Baker is a current favorite.
