Kelly Reemtsen
Biography
Kelly Reemtsen (b. 1967, Flint, Michigan) is best known for her bright and bold paintings of women carrying household tools such as chainsaws or axes. Her work often investigates the role of the modern woman, deconstructing societal perceptions of gender, power and femininity. Reemtsen's paintings are characterized by their thick impasto, stark white backgrounds, and anonymous figures.
Reemtsen is currently based in Los Angeles and London. She studied fashion design and painting at Central Michigan University and California State University Long Beach. Reemtsen has been involved with printmaking since the 1990s, studying etching and screenprinting in workshops and with educators across the United States. Kelly Reemtsen’s work has been exhibited widely in North America, and is part of the Twentieth Century Fox and AT&T corporate collections.
Works
Video
Exhibitions
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Kelly Reemtsen: Fool's Gold
April 2 - May 8, 2026 Los AngelesRead more -
ten : an anniversary
September 11 - October 18, 2025 New YorkRead more -
Kelly Reemtsen: Focus
October 17 - November 27, 2024 New YorkRead more -
Kelly Reemtsen | Multiples: A 10-Year Survey
May 5 - June 1, 2022 Los AngelesRead more -
Endless Summer
February 19 - March 26, 2022 Los AngelesRead more -
THIS IS AMERICA
Kunstraum Potsdam August 7 - September 9, 2021 New YorkRead more -
Kelly Reemtsen: The Shape of Things
October 8 - November 7, 2020 New YorkRead more -
Fragmented Bodies
February 27 - April 18, 2020 New YorkRead more -
Kelly Reemtsen: Value
June 21 - July 27, 2018 New YorkRead more
Art Fairs
Press
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Kelly Reemtsen in Conversation with Brainard Carey
Brainard Carey, Yale University Radio, December 16, 2024 -
Lavishly Dressed Women Equipped with Shovels and Chainsaws Consider the Tools Used for Change
Grace Ebert, Colossal, April 14, 2022 -
Frieze Los Angeles / Snapshot
Natalie Kovacs, The Design Edit, February 21, 2022 -
Opening This Week in LA
Artsy, February 17, 2022 -
Highlights from the Dallas Art Fair Online
Paul Laster, Whitehot Magazine, April 23, 2020 -
Sledgehammers and High Heels Find a Modern Pairing in Kelly Reemtsen’s New Paintings
Kate Sierzputowski, Colossal, November 15, 2017 -
Interior Design Risks Worth Taking
Michelle Higgins, The New York Times, March 3, 2017
