Born Vera Klementovna Shapiro in Danzig, Klement graduated from Cooper Union in 1950. She taught at University of Chicago, from 1969 to 1995.[3]
In 1973, Klement was a founding member of Artemisia Gallery, one of the Midwest's first feminist Cooperative Galleries located in Chicago, Illinois.[4]
Her work is in the collection of the state of Illinois,[8] The Kentucky Center for the Arts,[9] and the Krannert Art Museum.[10]
Personal life
Klement lived in Chicago. She was married first to Israeli violinist Werner Torkanowsky and later to composer and conductor Ralph Shapey, but both marriages ended in divorce.[1]
Klement died on October 20, 2023, of complications from cancer and COVID-19 in Evanston, Illinois.[1]