Kat Reeder

Kat Reeder's '09 Women's Triple Crown of Surfing Poster

Kat Reeder is a Peruvian-American illustrator, portrait artist, and graphic designer whose work is characterized by attractive female forms and nostalgic scenery. Her work combines elements of pop art, animation, art nouveau, and Latin American art styles. Reeder was born in Lima, Peru, grew up in Miami, Florida, and now lives in Honolulu, HI.^[1]

Kat Reeder’s works have shown in galleries in Hawaii, Australia, Japan and throughout the American mainland from Southern California to Miami. She has worked with major corporate clients including Starwood Hotels, Sony, The PGA Tour, Vans, and LeSportsac, and her illustrations have been published in both local and national publications, including Hawaii Magazine and Exotica Moderne.^[2] In 2021 she was also commissioned for a private fashion illustration event by Louis Vuitton Hawaii. Her work can be seen in album and poster designs for musical acts such as Hirie and Raiatea Helm in her home state of Hawaii, as well as Grammy nominees Ozomatli.

Reeder began work as an illustrator shortly after moving to Honolulu in 2009. She scored her first solo show in August of that year. Virtually unknown in the islands, her show caught the attention of the organizer of The Van’s Triple Crown of Surfing, who commissioned Reeder to illustrate the poster for the upcoming event.^[3] Due to the poster’s vintage vibe that expressed Hawaii’s surfing heyday in the 1970’s, it became a popular local image. Reeder’s work began selling in Hawaii, Australia, Japan, and California shortly thereafter.

In 2012, she was tapped to design a line of Hawaii-exclusive bags for LeSportsac.^{[4] [5]} The project led to a number of write-ups in local press. This allowed Reeder to expand her business to include more illustration work for major hotel chains such as Fairmont, Sheraton, and Westin, as well as the famed historic Waikiki hotels, The Royal Hawaiian and The Moana Surfrider. She has continued to work with corporate clients and expanded her repertoire to include highly sought-after custom portraits, with waiting lists sometimes extending well over a year.

In 2021, Reeder was commissioned by filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson to create poster art and other key art for his film Licorice Pizza, starring Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, Bennie Safdie, Tom Waits, and Maya Rudolph. Reeder’s work was used as the primary movie poster, and as advertising throughout Los Angeles, New York, and cities world-wide.

Reeder lives in Honolulu, Hawaii with her son and her husband, Chicago Tribune contributor Adam Reeder, author of Dazed and Caffeined and Two Tyrants.

References[]

External links[]

• katreeder.com
• Kat Reeder on Instagram