Kate Kloepfer (Klep-fer) was born in Durango Colorado at the beginning of the 90’s. When she was born her Father mistakenly wrote the wrong name on her birth certificate. This would set the president for the entirety of her life as a series of catastrophes one after another. Growing up she got chicken pox twice and had her first memorable experience with misogyny after she broke her arm and the X-ray technician told her that a little girl should be crying if their arm was really broken. After graduating high school in 2009 she moved to Gunnison Colorado to pursue a degree in psychology. Unfortunately, during her sophomore year, she became ill with appendicitis, first being told that it was period pains and then gastral intestinal issues she had to wait 10 hours for pain medicine. It was another 6 hours before she was able to have emergency surgery after which was completed she was gifted with the largest bottle of Vicodin that she had ever seen. After taking one of these Vicodin and attempting to Ski she broke her arm a week later.

After a recovery period, she relocated to Los Angeles California to work in special effects. During her time in Los Angeles, she saw firsthand the human consequences of living in a society with a focus on the male gaze. One particular instance of this occurred when she was walking home from a friend’s place late at night and a man approached her offering to buy her panties off her. Unfortunately despite Kloepfers’ need for money at the time she was not wearing any at the time so the point was rather moot.

After moving back to Colorado she enrolled in Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. Using her experience with living in a society that puts little value on women and those assigned female at birth her current focus is on creating work that sheds light on these issues during a time that there is a struggle for equality. Kloepfer utilizes several different mediums for her works often using a blend of mediums to create a strong message for her audience. The mediums that she is using most at the moment are performance and video work.

Kloepfer’s most recent Exhibitions include the Body Exhibit at PTS gallery and Hi Beams Convoy. Kloepfer was estimated to graduate in December of 2022 but unfortunately due to her house flooding, she will now be graduating in Febuary of 2023.

Becoming an artist was hardwired into my brain from childhood. Being surrounded by strong women role models who created incredible work inspired me to pursue a career in the arts at an early age. My work isn’t just a personal journey but an attempt to connect with my audience and to have the audience grasp, if only for a moment, a shared sense of emotion.

I remember when I was a young girl in the ’90s my mother told me how proud she was to be able to raise a young woman at a time when gender equality was the greatest in several generations. Now in a time where rights are being stripped away from all people I often find myself producing work to communicate how I feel in a society that seemingly puts less and less value on me, and others.

I am a multidisciplinary artist, and recently my work has been leaning towards performance and video work, as my work is about my body it only makes sense for me to incorporate my own body into my own work. The focus of my work is less on the medium that I use to create the pieces but, on the intended emotion or reaction from my audience. I hope to cause enlightenment for those who disagree with my points of view but at the same time to create a space of empathy and compassion for all those who go through similar experiences as my subject matter, such as recovering from abuse and the desire for equal rights, that I cover in my work.

If only for a moment I can get the viewer to see through my eyes my work has succeeded.

Kate Kloepfer

Education

2023 Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design

2014 Cinema Makeup School

Group Exhibitions

2023 Graduation Exhibit RMCAD

2022 High Beams: Convoy, RMCAD

2022 Celebrating The Body, Rotunda Gallery, RMCAD

Murals

2022 Tools, RMCAD (to be completed)

2022 A Murder with and Ice pick, RMCAD

2022 Ants, RMCAD

2020 Sunflower Garden, Private Residence

2020 Aspen Water Barrels, Private Residence

2018 Mountains in the Basement, Private Residence

2016 All Seasons, Dumpster Beuatification Project

2012 Portrait of a Family, Private Residence

Studio Assistant 

2021 Meow Wolf, Noodle Head Herd, Lauri Lynx Murphy

2021 Chromatic Cogitations: Rhythm Reboot, Lauri Lynx Murphy

Makeup in Films

2018 Impressions (short)

2017 Roxanne (feature) 

2017 You Have A Nice Flight (feature)

2016 Goodbye You (short)

2016 Beaten Dog (short)

2016 Mad House (short)

2016 Dustin and Toilet (short)

2016 Going Back Orange (short)

2016 417 Person With a Gun (short)

2015 Nothing But Her (short)

2015 Midnight Dinner (short)

2015 Not Until Midnight (teaser)

2015 Bamboleo (unauthorized M.V)

2015 Goodbye Charlie (short)

2015 Stacy’s Best Day Ever (short)

2015 An Interrogation (short)

2015 Pleasure Palace (short)