BILLIE KLEMM

Billie Klemm (also known as Vasiliki Klemm) was born on November 15, 1994 in Greece. While she was in high school Klemm was determined to become an artist, so she started taking art seminars on color theory, drawing, and children’s book illustration at a private art institute near Athens, Greece. In 2010 Klemm had her first group art exhibition ’Till The End/ Future Past at the Art 10 Gallery in Athens (organizer: Alexandros Magos). Following that she had two more group exhibitions in 2012 Images Based on Poetry of Nikos Gatsos in Gazi, Greece (organizer: Alexandros Magos), and Children’s Book Illustration and Comic Exhibition in Athens, Greece (organizer: Eleutheria Della). In addition to the group shows, Klemm also had her first solo art exhibition in the gymnasium of the 2nd high school of Kessariani in May of 2012.

Determined to further her education, Klemm moved to the United States in August of 2012. She attended Sierra College where she got her AA degrees in Studio Art and Art and Culture in 2016, and California State University of Sacramento where she received her BA degrees in Studio Art, and Asian Studies with a concentration in Japan in 2019. In 2019, Klemm participated in three more group shows at CSU Sacramento. The Student Purchase Awards Show held at the University Union Art Gallery, the Annual Student Awards Show held at the Robert Else Gallery, as well as, the Senior Show Spring 2019, held at the R.W & Joyce Witt & Robert Else Galleries.

In April of 2019, Klemm got hired by Dr. Jeffrey Dym of the History Department of CSU Sacramento to create Illustrations for a short historical clip Amaterasu, Her Jealous Brother Susano, and Weaving in Japan in collaboration with another talented student of the Art Department, Heather Schepperle. Following that, Klemm worked as an illustrator for the Engineering Department of CSU Sacramento for the summer of 2019, but unfortunately that project never came to fruition. Klemm also illustrated the book The Lost Boy, the exciting adventure of, Jake, a little boy that got lost in the woods; written by Loren E. David and Baba which got published in September of 2019.

Klemm’s paintings are a mix of social commentary, and abstract landscapes. There is also, a reoccurring theme of the ocean and fish, which is the nostalgia for her home country, Greece. She likes experimenting with different mediums and themes for her paintings. Since the beginning of 2020, Klemm has been exploring digital art, and the process of creating more stylized illustrations.