Emily Sundblad

The Upstairs

All Day

So this is reality too, come in

and now you’re here, all swept

up for you the floor shiny

and our wonderful pal, the

antelope clatters its little hooves

on the floor to eat from your

hand, all the pictures

you love on the walls and

your favorite books read

themselves aloud, and you

can leave if you want to, just

turn the page or have the kids

come over for cake, little Louie

from downstairs, he likes you

so much he brings his friends

too, the twelve year old girl,

She loves it here we give her

shiny hair and crackling

petticoats. It’s always

just after school and

just before supper. The

flower in the flowerpot smiles

all day in the sunshine

and waves its little

leaves when you come home. Such

a bright yellow floor and

such a big cozy bed

It says Hey Get Up or

You’ve got a temperature or

Stay here with me

let’s watch TV all day.

Sometimes there’s a moon

when we’re alone but

like always the grinning

kind that hangs from a

thin wire. Oh yeah, the

stars have five neat points

The coffee pot giggles and

the dishes wash themselves with

their little rubber gloves

squeaking and laughing.

You have that effect on things

and even the bathroom,

so often left out of things,

is happy, when you’re

home.

Oct 25

1978 RR

The exhibition also features a curtain made by Lou Dallas Home.

Emily Sundblad (b. 1977, Sweden) is an American-based, Swedish-born painter, gallerist, and musician. She co-founded and co-directs Reena Spaulings, an art collective and gallery located in Chinatown that exhibits one of the most consistent programs in New York. As an artist in her own right, Sundblad is known for her vibrant paintings—especially of flowers, which she describes as “a good empty subject.” Her approach is that of a Sunday painter—humble and modest, using oil, pastel, gouache, and watercolor in “a simple impulse to record everyday life.” As a musician, Sundblad sings with a dulcet, violin-like tone and works in traditions she considers populist: country, punk, torch songs, and British, American, and Mexican folk music.