E. DAN KLEPPER (American, b. 1956) E. Dan Klepper is a Texas-based artist, photographer, and writer whose work explores the intersection of natural phenomena, visual language, and experimental media. A long-time resident of Marathon, a remote community in West Texas, Klepper draws deep inspiration from the vast landscapes of the Big Bend region. His practice combines traditional photography with cutting-edge digital tools to create large-scale photo mosaics, prints, and video installations that examine nature’s transformative and often uncanny characteristics. Klepper’s work is rooted in close observation of the environment, often capturing ephemeral moments — from shifting weather patterns to celestial cycles — and reconstructing them through layered imagery that amplifies their poetic resonance. “I use both digital and film photography as well as video and computer software,” Klepper explains. “The results attempt to extract the uncanny from the natural world, to detect altered realities and dimensions, and to portray the curious laws of nature that guide our existence.” Klepper earned his B.A. from the University of North Texas and his M.F.A. in experimental video from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has been exhibited widely across Texas and internationally, including FotoFest Biennials, the McNay Art Museum, and the Berlin International Film Festival. He is represented by Foltz Fine Art in Houston, and his book Why the Raven Calls the Canyon was published by Texas A&M University Press. Through a practice that merges art, technology, and wilderness, Klepper invites viewers to experience the landscape as both physical terrain and metaphorical compass. PUBLIC, CORPORATE & PRIVATE COLLECTIONSTexas Capital Bank, Dallas, TexasLinda and William Reaves Collection of Texas Art, Public Art Collection, University of Houston, Victoria, TexasHouston Civic Art Collection, Houston, TexasConoco, Houston, TexasLakeside Country Club, Houston, TexasTexas A&M University Press, College Station, TexasTexas State University, Health Professionals Building, Round Rock, TexasUniversity Health System, Salud-Arte Program, San Antonio, TexasWarburg Pincus, Houston, Texas BIBLIOGRAPHY“Natural Attraction; A West Texas Photographer Chases a Constantly Changing Landscape”, Texas Highways Magazine, September, 2022“E. Dan Klepper and the Middle of Nowhere”, Dana Joseph, Cowboys & Indians Magazine, Feb/March 2018Show Review: State of Contrast – E. Dan Klepper: The West Texas Mystique”, Mackenzie McCreary, Southwest Art, March 2018“Marathon Run”, Susan L. Ebert, Dorado Magazine, March 2016“Off-The-Grid”, The Washington Post, April 29, 2015Texas Monthly, Jordan Breal, Sept. 2011, Volume 39, Issue 9, P. 54American Film Institute, Catalogue, 1989, P. 13Video Drive-In Valencia, Catalogue (Spanish/ English), Sept 1989, P. 31Encontros, Catalogue (Portuguese/English), 1989, P. 126Screen, M. Soltis/D. Schebers, Nov 1989, P. 20New City, Tim Jacobs, July 1989, P. 8New Art Examiner, Review, Jeff Abell, “Basically Boxes”, March 1986, P. 50Chicago Tribune, David Prescott, May 1985, Sec. 7, P. 45New Art Examiner, Review, Lucas Haas, Feb. 1981, P. 17Visions, Satoru Fujii, Editor, Feb. 1981, P. 73 FESTIVALS and GROUP EXHIBITIONSAmerican Film Institute Video Festival, Los Angeles, CaliforniaAustralia Video Festival, Adelaide, AustraliaEuropean Media Art Festival, Osnabruck, GermanyVideo Shorts, Seattle, WashingtonBerlin International Film Festival, Germany13th Poetry Film/Video Festival, San Francisco, CaliforniaVideo Culture International, “New Media”, Toronto, CanadaGreat Lakes Film and Video Festival, Milwaukee, WisconsinSan Sebastian International Video Festival, SpainCenter for Media Arts, “Festival De Video”, Paris, FranceArt in Chicago, 1945-1995, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IllinoisVipfilm 8, Berlin, GermanyMultiples, Atlanta, GeorgiaFamily Ties, New Langton Arts, San Francisco, CaliforniaEncontros, Glubenkian Foundation, Lisbon, PortugalVideo Drive-In, Ivam, Valencia, SpainVideo Drive-In, Nci, Lisbon, PortugalChicago Works: Art from The Windy City, Erie Museum of Art, PennsylvaniaKunst Video, Gallery F15, Moss, NorwayBasically Boxes, Klein Gallery, Chicago, IllinoisMaking Myths, White Columns, New York, New YorkChicago Survey, The Banff Centre, Alberta, CanadaThe Science of Fiction/The Fiction of Science, Grant Park, Chicago, IllinoisMyths and Miracles, Center For New Television, Chicago, IllinoisChicago Scene, Mandeville Art Gallery, San Diego, CaliforniaChicago Video, The Kitchen, New York, New YorkVideo 8, Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, New YorkVideo – Chicago Style, Global Village, New York, New York3 Erlanger Videotage, University of Erlanger, GermanyVideo Works, West Hubbard Street Gallery, Chicago, IllinoisChicago Video, Minneapolis Institute of Art, MinnesotaSexuality Series, Rhode Island Museum of Art, Providence, Rhode IslandVideo Pool, Winnipeg, CanadaModern Dangers, Hallwalls, Buffalo, New YorkNew Wave Series, First Street Forum, St. Louis, MissouriRoles, Representations, Sexuality, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaScience and Fiction, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MassachusettsTelevision, N.A.M.E. Gallery, Chicago, Illinois BOOKSWhy the Raven Calls the Canyon ~ Off the Grid in Big Bend Country, Texas A&M University Press (Spring 2017)100 Classic Hikes in Texas, Mountaineers Books, (Spring 2009)Spirit Walker ~ JD Challenger and His Art, Tide-Mark Press (2005).Ghostdancing ~ Sacred Medicine and The Art of JD Challenger, Stewart, Tabori And Chang, 1998. (Edwin Daniels)Wolf Walking, Stewart, Tabori And Chang, 1997. (Edwin Daniels) WRITING/PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS2018, Bronze, Magazine Photographer of the Year, 2018, International Regional Magazine Award2015, Gold, Photo Series, International Regional Magazine Association2015, Silver, Magazine Photographer of The Year, International Regional Magazine Association2014, Silver, Travel Feature, International Regional Magazine Association2014, Silver, Photo Series, International Regional Magazine Association2010, Silver, Historical Feature, International Regional Magazine Association2009, Bronze, Historical Feature, International Regional Magazine Association2004, Gold, Travel Feature, International Regional Magazine AssociationExcellence in Craft, Books, Texas Outdoor Writers AssociationExcellence in Craft, Photography, Texas Outdoor Writers Association