Reena Spaulings Fine Art

Reena Spaulings is not an artist or a gallerist. She’s not even a real person. She’s the lead character in a novel co-authored by 150 people, an artist’s alter ego, and the fictional frontwoman for this Lower East Side gallery founded by Emily Sundblad and John Kelsey, along with a collective of artist friends, in 2003.

In Reena Spaulings, the novel, Reena navigates post-9/11 New York in her 20s, ricocheting from museum guard to art-world “it” girl and back again to anonymity. The narrative pulses with the messy, ecstatic misadventures and club dispatches, the kind that could only happen in NYC.

When you step into Reena Spaulings, the gallery, you’ll find yourself in an airy and loft-like space overlooking Seward Park, the site of a wild, cerebral, and seriously fun world.

Like the novel’s namesake, the artists who show at the gallery are denizens of the downtown art scene. They’re known for their rule-breaking, sensual, DIY approach to art-making. Think art on ceilings, performed on video loops, or sculpted from materials found on the street.

While you won’t find Reena at the gallery, you might just bump into Emily, John, their kids, their dog, or the artists who make up the growing constellation of the gallery’s network, one that often feels like family.

Emily Sundblad and John Kelsey launched Reena Spaulings in 2003. At the time, John was part of an art, fashion, and film collaborative called the Bernadette Corporation, which was working on a novel collectively authored by 150 people. The main character’s name? Reena Spaulings. Some members of the group began showing work under her name, mostly just for fun. Working under a name that belonged to no one brought a surprising sense of freedom and disorientation of anonymity. The next step seemed obvious. Name the gallery Reena Spaulings. These days, the artists who exhibit at the gallery also show at some of the most exciting contemporary art museums worldwide, and the gallery has become a beacon for others just emerging onto the scene.