Hector Acuna

Hector Acuna is a visual artist and educator based in Grafton, Wisconsin. His art practice functions symbiotically between his studio and painting outdoors (‘en plein air) with oil, gouache, and egg tempera paints. Acuna has found a unique balance between each setting to explore themes of place, identity, and the human body as a social and cultural signifier. His work is held in private and public collections and has received numerous awards including Best of Show at the Door County Invitational Plein Air Festival and Best of Show at Paint Cedarburg in 2022. Plein Air Magazine named Hector as one of three “Artists to Watch” in their 2022 Oct/Nov issue and honored him with the first “M. Stephen Doherty Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award” at the 2023 Plein Air Convention & Expo held in Denver, CO this May. Acuna’s art career has been multifaceted over the past 10 years with public murals, art residencies, album art illustrations, custom frame making, and mixed-media installations accompanying his painting practice.

Acuna studied studio art at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point before nurturing his interest in teaching as an instructor for Michigan State University, where he completed his MFA in 2020. He taught foundation classes in drawing, sculpture, and color and design. In 2021, he began teaching online as a remote painting instructor for the University of Minnesota Morris through the spring of 2023. In recent years, he has enjoyed sharing his passion for art in group workshops on painting and drawing. Acuna also offers limited space for local private lessons and art coaching catered to the needs of his students. Later this year he will prepare for an October solo exhibition at Task Creative in Milwaukee and participate in plein air events in Door County and Mineral Point (WI), Bath County (VA), and San Angelo (TX).