Biography

The paintings for which Kelly Reemtsen is best known are elaborate depictions of the role of the modern day woman. Strikingly feminine at first glance, with their bodies adorned in fashionable designer dresses and runway-worthy accessories, Reemtsen’s women are not simply pinup girls or arm candy. Rather, the women, while dressed to the nines, undertake household, and often, traditionally masculine tasks. The objects they hold, from dishrags to wrenches to chainsaws, range from domestic to menacing, and yet, as a body of work, address the question of the proper role of the contemporary woman. Reemtsen’s answer to that is quite simple – anything! Anonymous torsos, the women remain beautiful representations of the feminine with which anyone can identify. In terms of technique, Reemtsen’s work, with its thick impasto, represents a masterly handling of paint, which can be seen throughout her oeuvre of women, as well as other subjects including designer furniture and pills.