Reena Spaulings Fine Art

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

In the 2005 novel, Reena navigates post-9/11 New York in her twenties, ricocheting between being a museum guard and an art-world “it” girl—and back again to anonymity. The narrative pulses with club-era energy and messy, ecstatic misadventures. The kind that could only happen in NYC.

When you step into the gallery’s airy and loft-like space, which overlooks Seward Park and Dimes Square, you enter 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. All are known for their rule-breaking, sensual, and DIY approach to making art. Think art on the ceiling, performance art on video loop, and sculpture built from material found on the street.

You won’t find Reena at the gallery, but you might bump into Emily or John. Or maybe their kids, their dog, or the artists that make up the gallery’s ever-evolving family.

When Emily Sundblad and John Kelsey launched Reena Spaulings in 2003, the couple didn’t know what to call the gallery, but they didn’t want to name it after themselves. 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. Then, something unexpected happened. Working under a name that belonged to no one brought a surprising sense of freedom. The next step felt obvious: name the gallery after Reena. In part to carry on the project. In part to continue with the playful disorientation of anonymity.

All that’s changed now. The artists who exhibit at the gallery also show at some of the most exciting contemporary art museums and galleries worldwide. And the gallery has become a beacon for those just emerging onto the scene.