Where do your ideas for the forms come from? What is your general approach to a new painting?

__I always have lots of ideas for new works on the go at once. I take lots of pictures – details of buildings, tiles, material, and patterns. These pictures inform new works. 

Where do you gain your inspiration? 

__I read a lot of 60s -70s DIY books as I love the colors and the low fi DIY projects. I am interested in the mapping of spaces and the push and pull between abstraction and representation. I want to communicate these ideas through the traditional language of hard edge abstraction. 

“Power Dressing” or “The glass ceiling your husband installed is beautiful”. Could you explain the mysterious titles of your paintings?

__I create titles in a similar way I collect ideas for new works. I have ideas and sentences that I collect from things I am reading and currently thinking about and once the work is finished I choose the title for it. While the exact title doesn’t come until the end, the ideas that have influenced the work and title come from the texts and theory that I have been reading while making the work. I’m intrigued by the layering of ideas that a title can give a work. I am interested in interrogating our gender- specific cultural practices, such as domestic chores and decorating, that undermine the equality of women. By using titles that refer back to texts about domestic spaces I hope to add to the layers of the works' possible interpretation. 

You studied sculpture and spatial practice. How did you make the leap to abstract painting? 

__It has been a gradual development really I still consider myself a sculptor that paints. My process is still developed in 3D, and the works by other artists that interest me the most is sculpture. 

You recently started to work increasingly with textiles (flags, carpets, fashion). How come? 

__I have always made t other and late grandmother made clothing, furniture upholstery, curtains and other soft furnishings as part of their everyday lives. It is a medium that I have grown up with and seen my grandmother and mother be most creative with. To me fabric represents self expression and inventiveness so it feels very natural to explore it more within my wider body of work. 

How was it working in the field of fashion? Was it how you expected? 

__It was really enjoyable. I learnt a lot and found the process rewarding and stimulating. I really didn’t know what to expect. It was all an extreme learning curve. 

www.estherstewart.com

Interview by Yue Shin Lin