It’s Personal

On view April 9–May 1, 2022 
Opening reception Saturday, April 9 (3–6 p.m.)

It’s Personal is an intimate, visual conversation between two art and object collections. For the first time, Nationale’s main gallery is curated with work that is not for sale. This unique exhibition offers a rare glimpse of Nationale’s owner/director May Barruel’s and interior designer Laura Housgard’s personal collections. Initially sparked by a conversation about collecting between Barruel and Housgard, It’s Personal reveals how collections are a reflection of our affinities, our curiosities, and our desire to know ourselves and the world around us. Together they invite you to explore Nationale’s Project Room (guest curated by Housgard) and Backroom Gallery (curated by Barruel) to discover art and objects for your own personal collection.

For May Barruel, collecting art is often a visceral experience. The decision to acquire a piece comes from a deep inner knowing. She wants to keep it close, to be able to see it every day; she can feel that it belongs with her. In the moment this feeling is not necessarily rational, but once the work comes into her home, connections and new meaning begin to reveal themselves over time. Because she collects from a personal, instinctual place, she can recognize her own evolution within a trio of pieces by two different artists. A painting within a painting becomes a tender gesture that illustrates how the objects we surround ourselves with can be in conversation with one another and can transform with us over time. She is also able to hold the memory of a friend who has passed away through a small sculpture on her bookshelf.

The selection from Barruel’s collection on view in It’s Personal shows her connection to the local art community through her years of curatorial work at Nationale and other spaces. Not only has she acquired pieces from artists she has formed close relationships with, she also collects from other small galleries and from auctions and benefits that support non-profit art spaces and artists alike. Her collection could be seen as a personal archive of sorts, tracing her curatorial work and involvement in the local art ecology. Over the years, Barruel has also framed simple drawings or pinned photographs and notes from friends directly to the wall, she sees this as an alternative way to collect; fill your home with objects you love that connect you to those you love. 

An art collection can extend beyond the walls of a home, it can also enter the living space as functional objects that we use daily. Interior designer Laura Housgard honed her eye for minimalist design while working in high-end retail environments and studying in Sweden before opening the celebrated lifestyle concept shop, Johan (2015-2019), in SE Portland. It’s Personal highlights chairs, stools, and objects from her personal collection of iconic and contemporary pieces. From the classic Plia folding chair (1967) by Giancarlo Pirretti, to the rounded edges of the Cloudforest Stool (2018) by local designer Matthew Philip Williams, Housgard’s furniture collection spans eras and continents. Her collection is a reflection of her deep interest in design history and contemporary designers alike. By bringing furniture into an art space, Housgard invites us to really look at the objects that hold and ground us. We begin to observe the curve of a coffee table, the lines of a chair, and the spaces between forms, for what they are: art. 

It’s Personal is a reflection on what it means to collect and treasure art objects over time. It is also a reminder that collecting is not solely for the wealthy. These two collections were created slowly over years of thoughtful purchases within modest budgets. What you collect may be personal but the process doesn’t have to be a mystery. With this conversation, Barruel and Housgard want to lift the exclusivity veil on collecting by encouraging you to ask questions, engage in conversations, and if you do buy, buy what you love. 

Featured artists from May Barruel’s collection
Brad Adkins; Anonymous; Violet Aveline; Amy Bay; Joanna Bloom; Ryan Boyle; Emily Counts; Jeremy Okai Davis; Carson Ellis; Ty Ennis; Amanda Leigh Evans; Robert Gilpin; Midori Hirose; barry johnson; Aidan Koch; Ellen Lesperance; Daniel Long; Dino Matt; Ursa Nüffer-Rodriguez & Holly Haney; Carola Penn; Christian Rogers; Olga Shchepina; Vala Rae; and Emma Weber.

Featured objects from Laura Housgard’s collection
Extruded Taper Holder by Inventory Ceramics, 2018; Ceramic Bowl - Small by Andrea Zittel, 2022; Wire Face Sculpture by John Brodie, 2020; Cuppa by Faye Toogood, 126 of 150, 2012; ‘Bed, Embedded, Embodied’ Sculpture by Melina Bishop, 2018; Lucite Dowel Pyramid Sculpture, artist & year unknown; Ceramic Mug by Terri Cody, year unknown.

Featured chairs from Laura Housgard’s collection
Chair 1 Prototype by The Good Mod, 2016; Checkerboard Chair by Laura Housgard, 2021; Suzy Stools by Adrian Reed for Princes Design Works, 1984; Spaghetti Chair by Giandomenico Belotti for FlyLine, 1979; Cloud Forest Stool by Matthew Philip Williams, 2018; and Plia Chair by Giancarlo Piretti, 1967.

BIOs //
May Barruel is the owner/director of Nationale in Portland, OR, which she opened in 2008. A native of Grenoble, France, she holds a MA in American Literature from l'Université de Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle, and a professional certificate from New England School of Photography in Boston, MA. In Portland since 2000, Barruel curated the Stumptown Downtown space from 2007 to 2020 and launched the Stumptown Artist Fellowship in 2017, with an inaugural exhibition by Wendy Red Star. 

Laura Housgard is an interior designer living and working in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. Since 2019 she has been designing commercial and residential interiors collaboratively with North 45 Projects. From 2010–2014, Laura worked in the apparel design industry in New York City. After returning to Portland, she created and owned the Portland lifestyle concept shop, Johan (2015–2019), and the Chinatown gallery, Closed Gallery (2017–2019), featuring a number of experiential concept pieces, one of which was a coffee shop called No Coffee. Laura holds a BS in Business from Oregon State University, and a MS in International Marketing and Brand Management from Lund University in Sweden. 

Nationale’s Thoughts on Collecting //
Our first tenet of art collecting is simple: if you see a piece and you can't stop thinking about it for days or weeks, then you should consider buying it—much more than buying something because the artist is popular. Use your intuition to always buy what you love, but also don't shy away from difficult imagery—you may learn the most from having those more challenging pieces in your daily life. 

If the cost of a certain piece feels overwhelming at first, ask us if you can set up a payment plan. Paying smaller increments over time will relieve some of the burden of a large purchase, and will make the day when you finally bring the piece into your home that much more special.

If possible, make personal connections with artists. Attend talks, openings, and other events to meet the makers of the works you are thinking about purchasing. Get to know the work on a deeper level by asking questions about process, subject matter, and inspiration. 

Beyond buying what you love it is also important to consider the broader positive effects of collecting art. When you purchase a painting, sculpture, photograph, and so forth, you are supporting ideas and creativity, not just of the individual maker but of a larger circle. Every purchase ricochets, especially in a small community such as Portland, and affects more than just the one artist—it creates a culture of collecting in which art and ideas are valued in a very tangible way.

PRESS & MORE
Do We Collect Them Or Do They Collect Us?, Jennifer Rabin, OUT OF THE BOX, April 20, 2022

IMAGES