Mary Heilmann was born in San Francisco in 1940 and grew up there and in southern California. She went on to study ceramics and poetry at San Francisco State College and the University of California, Berkeley, where she finished an M.A. in 1968. After moving to New York in 1969, Heilmann switched from sculpture to painting. She joined the Pat Hearn Gallery in 1986, and exhibitions there increased her exposure. Since then, domestic and international interest has grown. The current traveling retrospective of her work has generated great enthusiasm among critics and viewers alike. She was featured in the August 2007 issue of Vogue, and in November 2007 her colorful abstract paintings landed on the covers of Art in America and Artforum simultaneously. Heilmann has taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York and received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

additional image info:

Mary Heilmann
Surfing on Acid, 2005
Oil on canvas
Collection of Orange County Museum of Art;
museum purchase with funds provided through
prior gift of Lois Outerbridge
Courtesy of the artist, 303 Gallery New York,
and Hauser & Wirth Zurich London

Mary Heilmann
Hokusai, 2004
Oil on canvas
Diptych: 75 x 120 in. overall
Collection of Carol and David Appel, Toronto
Courtesy of the artist, 303 Gallery New York,
and Hauser & Wirth Zurich London

Mary Heilmann
Tourmaline, 1992
Oil on canvas
42 x 42 in.
Collection of David Doubilet, Toronto

Mary Heilmann
Neo Noir, 1998
Oil on canvas
75 x 60 in.
Collection of Edward Israel, Los Angeles
Courtesy of the artist, 303 Gallery New York,
and Hauser & Wirth Zurich London