"ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT YOU ARE MAKING SOMETHING YOU LOVE, TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY, HERE AND NOW." - RICK RUBIN

Kate.jjj is an artist and contemporary painter who is known for her work within the entertainment industry. Her artwork has edgy collage elements that evoke inner thought and oftentimes is infused with text. She graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Design with a BA in Architecture and a minor in Product Design. Though she is a self taught artist, her schooling is important to note as hints of her architectural practice are seen throughout her SNKRS.jjj series.
In 2018 Kate presented her first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, California and in 2019 exhibited in the Los Angeles Pancakes and Booze show. Professionally, as an Art Director in the film and entertainment industry, her artwork has been showcased on Netflix, HBO, A24 and is regularly commissioned to pitch her artwork for specialized campaigns.
In 2022 Kate was awarded a Gold PROMAX award with creative studio, Rhubarb, for her illustration for Netflix’s “Pray Away.”
The mural she painted of Kobe & Gigi Bryant in Los Angeles in 2020 gained the media attention of tv and film. She will be featured in an upcoming documentary Sincerely, Los Angeles that highlights and tells the story of artists “painting the streets” after the passing of Kobe. Kate was published in the Sincerely, Los Angeles coffee table book as well as the Safehaven zine.
Jensen lived in Los Angeles for 5 ½ years but now resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she works and paints from her in-home studio. She makes trips often to LA & NY to check in on projects and catch up with existing and past clients. 

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ARTIST STATEMENT

"I’m an artist who is constantly exploring the duality of light and dark, sanity and madness; the space that exists between your reality and mine. A lot of my work, and developed style, is inspired by having synesthesia and being able to interpret music and sound in a visual way. I also like to dance with perception and challenge our own understanding of what might be real to me and unknown to you. Life is both good, bad, and heartbreakingly beautiful all at the same time. All of the time."
It’s taken me years to figure out what I’m trying to say as an artist. Mainly because when I started drawing in high school it was all about developing the skill set of, you know, “being good at drawing.” I focussed on drawing musicians because it would get the kids around me to take interest in what I was creating, and that gave me some sort of illusion of accountability to get better. It was never about showing creativity or a thoughtful approach to art; it was simply just wanting my drawing to get closer and closer to the photograph. I never considered myself creative or an “idea” person. I wasn’t the artsy kid in high school, I just had a skillset that I could obsess over; which is why I went to college to be an Architect and not an Artist. 
I think it's hard for most artists to describe, in words, the world they are trying to build or the "brand" around the art they are creating because we show it to you...and we prefer it that way. At least I do. I follow the music I’m listening to, the energetic burst of lightning I get in my chest when that Jay-Z double entendre hits. I follow the laughs I get from obsessively watching comedy podcasts all day every day. I follow the sentence that keeps repeating in my head over and over and over, with no idea what it means or where it came from. I follow the moods of everyday life and just want to make them look as best as I can.
A little peek behind the curtain, as someone whose whole schooling and career has been based on critiques and having to put story to the thing you make… oftentimes the story comes after the making. But we’re told that the story, the concept, has to drive the outcome. I’m here to tell ya… yeah sometimes that’s the case, but I’d argue a lot of the time it isn’t. So I’m just here following the instincts I have and continuing down the path that I originally started out on, which is making sure everything I create is a little better than the last. And hopefully, through that journey, something I make resonates with you and love it enough to welcome it into your home! -jjj