Rita Chester

@rdcjla

Disciplines

Fiber ArtTextilesSculpture

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Lives and Works

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About

Rita Chester is a fiber artist based in Surprise, Arizona, working primarily in felting to create textural works that blur the line between painting and sculpture. Guided by process, she builds surfaces with wool and other natural fibers, layering colour and form to evoke landscapes, florals, and abstract art . Her work has been exhibited across Arizona, including as a featured artist in Sustainable, an exhibition at the West Valley Arts Council (April 2025). She has also been a member of On the Edge Gallery in Scottsdale and Fountain Hills Artists Gallery in Fountain Hills. Rita’s practice continues to grow through exhibitions, collaborations, and community engagement, drawing audiences into the tactile love of fiber.

Artist Statement

I create works in felted fiber, drawn to the physicality of the medium and the way wool responds to touch, water, and pressure. Each work begins with loose strands of fibre and becomes something dense and permanent. I am less concerned with representation than with material presence: colour, textures, and sculptural reliefs that invite viewers to slow down and consider surface, depth, and process. I find inspiration in landscapes and florals. When transformed into wool it becomes strange and new. This tension between comfort and discovery is what keeps me in the work.