Heather Hund (b. 1983) is an abstract artist living and working in San Francisco.
She holds an MBA from Stanford and an MA in Art History from Oxford, where she studied the painters who inspire her work, including Helen Frankenthaler, Cy Twombly and Grace Hartigan. She began her career in private equity at Goldman Sachs, where she took painting classes at night before returning to the office.
Her artistic journey began in the kitchen of her great aunt, an acclaimed Southwestern artist. Her artistic education expanded with studies at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, Georgia O’Keeffe’s summer home, and under the mentorship of renowned artist Ty Nathan Clark.
Her work is an exploration of the inherent wonder of the world, something that she rediscovered in the depths of life’s challenges. Inspired by the Japanese pottery technique kintsugi, where cracks in ceramics are filled with gold, her work attempts to explore the beauty in imperfection.
She finds joy in the spontaneous nature of acrylics – and color is at the center of her artistic process. When her color mixtures touch water on the canvas, unexpected colors and patterns emerge, creating a visual echo of life's surprises. The raw canvas serves as a blank slate, allowing her to build layers of meaning and emotion, much like the complexities of human experience.
Through layers of translucent acrylic washes - and often pigment, graphite, oil sticks, and sand – she invites the viewer to discover the hidden depths beneath the surface. New marks and unexpected details emerge, creating a sense of visual exploration and potential discovery.
Today, she is a mother, an artist – and works with VC-backed startups and technology companies in the Bay Area. While she lives in San Francisco, she also spends time in Taos, New Mexico. Her work has been recognized by Abstract Mag – and can be found in private collections from San Francisco, Los Angeles and Big Sur to the East Coast.
cv / resume
Education
Oxford University, MA in Art History
Stanford University, MBA
Exhibitions / Other
2024 Dorado 806 | Santa Monica, CA | Mother Group Show
2024 Abstract Mag Featured Artist
2024 Tapiial | Imaginary Group Show
2024 Saatchi The Other Art Fair, Los Angeles (Accepted)
2023 Art Mentorship with Ty Nathan Clark
collections (private)
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Big Sur, Washington D.C., New Mexico
from the artist
“Art is about dipping into the ocean of our subconscious. When I paint, it is a journey into things that lie beneath the surface.”
“My work aims to capture moments of aliveness that take us out of ourselves, even for a second. Standing on a cliff over a blue ocean, waves crashing. The feeling of a small hand in yours. Wandering through giant redwoods, rays of sunlight illuminating the greens of the forest. Noticing how foggy days make flowers exceptionally bright.”
“Our best moments happen in the chaos of life. Through details, color and expressive marks, my art attempts to express that there is beauty in all of the extravagant messiness of the present moment. My art is an attempt to deconstruct the narrative that we need to figure out life or achieve milestones to find contentment and happiness. All we have to do: pause and look. There is beauty in what is happening right now."
“Parenthood was one of the most inspirational things to happen in my life. The freedom I see in my kids’ approaches to the world (and art) is something I try to capture in my work. As Picasso said, “It took me four years to paint like Raphael and a lifetime to paint like a child.”
