Esther Stewart’s works sit in a fertile space between painting, sculpture, architecture and public art, exploring the myriad possibilities offered by the visual languages of geometric abstraction, design and decoration. Her hybrid sculpture-paintings utilise bold geometrical forms, precise lines and colour palettes that reference the ornamental features of domestic architecture such as awnings, balustrades, lattices and tiles, and the patterning of marble veneers, carpets or wood panelling. She often collaborates with other architects and craftspeople to extend the spatial and material possibilities within her practice. Stewart’s practice pushes traditional boundaries of hierarchy and discipline, establishing an elastic relationship between form and function, art and design.

Stewart was the winner of the prestigious Sir John Sulman Prize in 2016. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at galleries and institutions, including Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne; Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne; McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park; Mornington; Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne; Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, Goulburn; Ballarat Art Gallery, Ballarat; Kunsthalle Schaffhausen Vebikus, Switzerland; and Galleria dell’ Accademia, Florence. In 2015, Italian designer Valentino engaged Stewart to collaborate on translating her paintings into the Autumn/Winter 2015-2016 menswear collection.