Emily Sundblad’s works are characterized by a push and pull between beauty and sophistication on one end and grit and rowdiness on the other. They are intentionally traditional in their subject matter, mostly confined to the classic genres of landscape, portrait, and still life. They seem tender and vulnerable, yet simultaneously brash and rough. Sometimes they feel unfinished or abandoned, and at other times excessively exuberant.

The often-small pictures have whimsical, surreal, dreamlike qualities. We might find a canvas depicting a calm landscape with exotic animals painted in loud and garish colors next to a small-scale tableau of rotting roses beside a painting of a dog curled up tightly and sleeping under a palm tree or a set of graphite drawings depicting a bullfight in Mexico. Everything feels generous and enjoyable, yet all is painted with raging impatience and fury, ready to deliver a sudden punch, allowing no time for defense on the viewer’s part.

Born in 1977 in Dalsjöfors, Sweden, the artist currently resides in New York. She cofounded and codirects, with John Kelsey, Reena Spaulings Fine Art in New York’s Chinatown. Sundblad has performed under the name Reena Spaulings, presenting a unique identity that is the fictional owner of the real gallery. She also composes music and sings on stage—both critiquing and sincerely participating in pop performance. Through this multifaceted practice Sundblad encourages a dialogue about authenticity and sincerity, with each manifestation of painting, performance, and identity re-informing and enriching the others.

It might be exaggeration to call her work anti-art, given that Sundblad has enormous skill and talent. Still, the humorous, often absurd subjects, fast-paced brushstrokes, bold colors, intentional rejection of a signature style, and carefree spirit set the work apart from the carefully calculated, perfectly executed paintings we see so often today.