Lopi LaRoe was born in Schenectady, New York in the late sixties. She is the third and middle child of painter and musician Anne Miller. Her Father, Nelson J. LaRoe was a high school basketball star and later became a high school teacher and guidance counselor. Growing up, Lopi was exposed at a young age to political activism through her Mother's side of the family. Some of her earliest memories include being surrounded by cheering hippies at a folk festival when it was announced that Nixon had resigned.
She has lived on both coasts of the US as well as Hawaii, spending 15
years living on the west coast mostly in California and Oregon. She has
been an independent artist since the late 1980’s. While living in
Oregon, Lopi explored direct action environmental activism with Earth
First! learning to climb trees with ropes and resist the police with non-violence.
In the 1990’s, she founded a performance venue in Santa Cruz called “What is Art?”. She was the director and curator of that space until 2000. During this time she started working for IATSE as an electrician and general stagehand. During the six year run of What is Art, her artistic medium was primarily dance and performance art. The works she created were based on structured improvisational scores utilizing found film footage, unusual lighting sources and prop work. She performed these works at various venues in the South Bay Area. She began documenting many other artists performances on videotape and started a television program showcasing local artists. The show, also titled "What is Art?" won several awards for best art programming at the cable access channel 72 based in Santa Cruz.
In response to various major events in her life including the death of
her Father in July of 2001, she abruptly decided to move to NYC, arriving
two days after the World Trade Towers were destroyed. It was during her
first year living in NYC that she switched to a new medium; oil paint.
This prompted her to return to academia to get some formal training. She
earned her BFA at SUNY Purchase in 2005, cum laude.
Lopi began showing her work publicly in 2005. She has shown in various
galleries in the LES, West Village and Chelsea since that time. She is
continually exploring new ways to incorporate all aspects of her artistic
self into a cohesive creative force. This may include but not be limited
to: dance, performance, writing, photography, videography, acting and
painting.