ANIMAL LAUGHTER: NICK NORMAN'S SCULPTURES & CAPSULE REVIEW

Face Vase (Fem.), 2017, glaze on clay, 18 x 19 x 9"

Face Vase (Masc.), 2017, glaze on clay, 14.5 x 10.5 x 8"

Intimacy Vase, 2017, glaze on clay, 11 x 3.5 x 3.5"

Penetration Vase (Mask), 2017, glaze on clay, 4.5 x 4.5 x 5"

Rock Head Vase, 2017, glaze on clay, 6.5 x 6 x 6"

Two Face Vase, 2017, glaze on clay, 7.5 x 6.5 x 5"

Humanoid Table, 2017, glaze on clay and acrylic on wood, 31.5 x 11.5 x 47"

From the gallery desk, Nick Norman’s carved wood sculpture Humanoid Table appears to be just a thin, bright pink neck and bulbous head floating in space. The sculpture’s face emerges from the nothingness—red snakelike tongue slithering out, green ceramic eyes, and ears like chunks of molded shiny pink bubble gum. Each month this seat forces a frame around the work on view, obscuring the majority and focusing on only a fragment. Humanoid Table, like many pieces that have occupied this view in the past, has become that prized visitor who keeps the gallery sitters company. It offers a place for our eyes to wander and find respite from the computer screen, but it also only lets us in on part of the story. 

The sculpture takes on new life and meaning when seen in its entirety. No longer just a detached neck and head, Humanoid Table, is exactly that, a table. In fact the only human quality to the piece is the head and neck—the legs have no feet, and the table top is a flat slab. These attributes also make it a very functional object; for this exhibition it’s used to display two small ceramic sculptures also by Norman. Although Humanoid Table is far from human, it does illicit issues surrounding labor and oppression. This is in contrast to Norman's other humanoid sculptures which function as vessels—vases don't imply the same exertion of energy in the way tables do. What would it mean to use this table in your life, to bring it home and eat off of it, or place heavy objects on its back while the eyes stare out blankly? The human quality of Humanoid Table is perhaps most present when we see it as a piece of furniture working hard for its human owners.
                                                                                                                                                                                        –Gabi Lewton-Leopold

Installation view of Humanoid Table in Animal Laughter. Paintings by William Matheson.

LAST DAY TO STAMP ART PASSPORTS!

well-loved passports ready to be submitted for a chance to win $1600 to spend on ART!

Today is the LAST DAY to get your Art Passport PDX stamped and turned in to one of the eight participating galleries for your chance to win $1600 to spend on art! We've had such a wonderful time being a part of this innovative program developed by the amazing Jennifer Rabin. Thank you to everyone who has come through our door and engaged in thoughtful and inspiring conversations about art! We look forward to congratulating the big winner! 

EMILY COUNTS SHOWING AT STROBEL & SANDS IN SEATTLE

Emily Counts, Answering Machine, 2012, stoneware with luster, glass, silver chain, 9 x 9 x 13"

Gallery artist Emily Counts is part of a summer group show at the new Seattle gallery, Strobel & Sands alongside Royce Allen Hobbs and Jessie Rose Vala opening on June 17! 

From the press release: 
Strobel & Sands’ second exhibition, Reinterpreting the Object, explores the dynamics of sculpture in relation to the viewer through varying degrees of abstraction, conceptualism and craftsmanship. Many of the works in the exhibition are recognizable or reminiscent of a functional object that has been rendered useless. Emily Counts, Royce Allen Hobbs, and Jessie Rose Vala each present a distinct path to examining the relational and aesthetic nature of sculpture.

Reinterpreting the Object
Emily Counts, Royce Allen Hobbs, and Jessie Rose Vala
June 17 – July 22
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 17, 5-8pm
Strobel & Sands
Emerson Garage
Corner of 35th Ave W and Emerson St.
Magnolia, Seattle, WA 98199

TY ENNIS & JAIK FAULK IN "THE COMMUNITY (2007–2017)"

TY ENNIS, L Elle, 2017, acrylic on on unstretched canvas, 40 x 30”

In June 2007, I installed my first show for Stumptown Downtown.  More than 100 exhibitions later and having worked with almost as many artists, it is no understatement to say that this responsibility & privilege has had a strong impact on me. From inspiring me to open Nationale in 2008, to shaping some of the most important relationships in my personal and professional life, this has been quite a journey.  While thinking back on this ten year span, one during which the Portland arts ecology has changed so much, I invited ten painters who’ve all had solo exhibitions at the café during that period, including gallery artists Ty Ennis and Jaik Faulk.  With The Community—a title borrowed from Jon Raymond’s collection of art writings published last year by Publication Studio—I hope to present a survey of sorts.  A glimpse into what it has been like to meet these artists and experience the work they all make, after clocking out at their day job(s), and that they share with this ever changing community.  Given the simple assignment to render some kind of bouquet on a 40”x30” piece of unstretched canvas, they all went into their studios to do what they do best: paint.—May Barruel

JAIK FAULK, Sunday Evening to Friday Night, 2017, acrylic on on unstretched canvas, 40 x 30”

The exhibition is on view through July 11, 2017 at 128 SW Third Avenue, Portland, OR.

DANIELLE ROSS PERFORMANCE AT NATIONALE

Join us at Nationale this Sunday, May 28 (doors at 5PM, performance at 5:30PM // FREE) for a special performance of Apparatus, the latest work by choreographer Danielle Ross in collaboration with Stephanie Lavon Trotter (voice), Chloe Alexandra Thompson (sound), DB Amorin (video), and performers Claire Barrera, keyon gaskin and Simeon Jacob. Beginning with an exploration into social feedback loops and identity construction, Apparatus is (currently) an attempt at performative mirroring, a vulnerability game, a rant, and a dance about the crossroads of self-through-self’s-eyes and self through the eye of the other.

Apparatus will be performed in its final phase in July 14-16, 2017 at Disjecta.

AMY BERNSTEIN: LIL FEATURE @ AFTERALL STUDIO

We know how inspiring our artists are but it's always so lovely to randomly find them mentioned on the internet and to see how much they mean to others, too.
Gallery artist Amy Bernstein featured on AfterAll Studio's #FEELTHISLIST !

Amy photographed in her SE Portland studio by Simon Metcalf earlier on this year (©2017)

ANNIE McLAUGHLIN'S SOLO SHOW TOP PICK IN THE OREGONIAN

Excited to see Annie McLaughlin's current exhibition Brushing Out the Brood Mare's Tale listed as an Arts Best Bet in The Oregonian last week! Just a few days left to check out Annie's show—on view through May 19th.

CARSON ELLIS RECEIVES E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD AWARD

Congrats to gallery artist, Carson Ellis on her E.B. White Read-Aloud Award for her children's book, Du Iz Tak? ! This charming tale has received much well-deserved recognition and we're thrilled to add this most recent honor to the list.

THE NEW TRAVEL ALMANAC IS HERE!

The Travel Almanac, Issue #12. We didn't know which cover to choose so we got both!

Now available in the shop and ONLINE.

PRINT RELEASE THIS WEDNESDAY, MAY 17

Annie McLaughlin, Untitled, 2017, silkscreen print (ed.100), 24 x 18"

Please join us on Wednesday, May 17 (6–7:30 p.m.) for the print release party and closing reception for Annie McLaughlin's solo exhibition, Brushing Out the Brood Mare's Tale. Annie collaborated with Nationale's offshoot project, Le Oui to create a unique, limited edition silkscreen print.
For this piece, we wanted to keep some of the elements from the current series of paintings and also play around with the more abstract images & ideas found in Textures of Paradise, the artist book accompanying the exhibition. As with our other Le Oui releases, 10% of the proceeds from this print will benefit a non-profit organization. Annie has chosen to support the Center for Reproductive Rights. If you can't join us on May 17, you can now pre-order this limited edition print HERE.

INTERVIEW: ANNIE McLAUGHLIN

Annie McLaughlin shares some insights into her second solo show at Nationale, Brushing Out the Brood Mare's Tale.

Gabi Lewton-Leopold: When I look at these paintings, both as separate pieces and as a series, I think of storytelling and folklore. This comes through both in the subject matter that hints at folktales—coyote, rocking chair, smoky chimney—but also in how you use the paintings to tell stories. Often you give the viewer a closely cropped (Fire, Place; Wild Country Chimney in Yellow) or partially concealed view (50% Visibility, 100% Shangri-La), as if to just show one sliver of the larger story. Can you share your thoughts on storytelling and narrative within this series?

Annie McLaughlin: This work is very much about stories and storytelling as subject matter—the way that objects, symbols, spaces, conjure images and meaning within the larger complex narrative of culture and histories. Perhaps there are falsities in the stories, or perhaps the falsities just contribute to our larger understanding of things. This work was specifically about the idea of paradise in America, lots of perspectives and storytellers and folklore come into play within that narrative, some of them problematic, but nevertheless an important piece of context and meaning. 

Fire, Place, 2017, acrylic, gouache, and Flashe on panel, 24 x 18"

GLL: You took a long solo road trip through the American SW not so long ago. How did that adventure impact your work? Do you see those experiences as shaping this current series?

AM: Yes—that was the larger narrative myth I pulled from here. The folk, the rural, the artist moving to the countryside, the romanticization of rural space or country dwelling that one expects to find. I did a lot of "sifting" to find those tropes. Which is to say they're present, but they aren't the only pieces of the pie. I kind of set out to look at the American West and the craft tradition but ended up relating all of the imagery to "paradise thinking," the oasis, the pastoral haven, and all of the aspects good and bad that come with that.

Photograph of Annie's truck in NW Utah during her solo road trip. More images of her adventure can be found here.

GLL: I'm curious about your use of texture and patterning, which you explore in all of the paintings. The book that you produced in conjunction with the series also plays with texture and the different references that can emerge within a single painted surface. For example you write in the book, "shaggy carpet or moss or a curly haired canine" followed by a drawing that could be the surface of any of these things.

AM: The texture speaks to different things to me. I think in one way I see it as the texture of the mind's eye, the fuzziness of romantic memory, something that lacks clarity. I also see it as a celebration of paint, or the painter and the painter's role in contributing to the myth of paradise: Arcadian bathers, the exotic, the simple life utopia, and so forth. There's a long tradition in painting with that.

Designated Seat for Daydreaming, 2017, acrylic, gouache, and Flashe on panel, 24 x 18"

GLL: There's also a lot of play and humor alive in this work. Especially in the rocking horse sculpture, which appears to be all together usable until you get closer and see that it is just one slab of wood, and would be oh-so-painful to ride. I also love the title of that piece: Thank You So Much for the Rocking Horse It Really Means a Lot to Us. What are your thoughts on humor and play within your work? Do you see it as a welcoming entrance point?

Thank You So Much for the Rocking Horse It Really Means a Lot to Us, 2017, acrylic, gouache, and Flashe on plywood cutout, 36 x 40 x 6"

AM: Yes! Humor is my favorite tool, I suppose. Especially in discussing history, complex myths, and cultural narratives. The subject matter for those things (especially in America) can be really heavy—humor for me can be a really great entry point in sparking a narrative. 

GLL: There's a small painting in the show of a rock that looks a bit like a potato with a little family of smaller rocks nearby. The title, The Brief Moment in the Long Life of a Rock When It Lived in a Garden Belonging to Someone, got me thinking about the absurdity of human ownership over nature. It also conjured the simple fact that the natural world came before us and will outlive us. This painting feels like a comment on the serene domesticity of the majority of work in the show—perhaps a comment on the idea that these worlds we build for ourselves to feel safe and have purpose are actually so fragile and insignificant. What are thoughts on this piece and the title? 

The Brief Moment in the Long Life of a Rock When It Lived in a Garden Belonging to Someone, 2017, acrylic, gouache, and Flashe on panel, 14 x 14"

AM: I'd say that's pretty solid insight into that painting! I have this amazing favorite rock. It's this kind of pink toned aggregate stone that I found at a river in Southwestern Colorado. I picked it up and brought it into my life then, and as a possession it feels so important to me. But the thing that always comes to mind is how that rock, which I love so much and tend to think of as "mine," is probably the oldest thing in my house (along with my other rocks), and will likely outlive everything I see and know of. To me that painting grounds the work. It serves to remind us that the narrative and cultural meaning is constructed, much like the rock garden, and that in time when everyone and thing is gone, the rock will remain, and however inanimate, will inevitably be the wisest of them all regardless of whether or not there's someone to acknowledge it as such.

AMY BERNSTEIN AT GALLERI THOMASSEN, SWEDEN

Flesh of My Flesh by Amy Bernstein surrounded by Hanna Andersson's paintings and Jakob Ojanen's sign. Image ©Jakob Ojanen

Gallery artist Amy Bernstein is currently showing in A Lot A Lot, a group exhibition at Galleri Thomassen in Gothenburg, Sweden. Catch her work there until April 30, 2017.
Congratulations, Amy!

REOPENING THIS THURSDAY WITH AN EXHIBITION BY ANNIE McLAUGHLIN

50% Visibility, 100% Shangri-La (detail), 2017, acrylic, gouache, and Flashe on panel, 30 x 40"

Join us this Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. for Annie McLaughlin's reception. Brushing Out the Broad Mare’s Tale is our third time showing the young Portland painter. The exhibition is on view April 20–May 19, 2017.

VIEW THE COLLECTION ONLINE WHILE NATIONALE TAKES A SHORT BREAK

We are thrilled with the collection of works under $1000 we have put together in honor of Art Passport PDX. Nationale will be on a short break April 10–19, 2017 but we hope you'll have a chance to look through our COLLECTING page & become familiar with some of the artists we represent. We will reopen our doors on April 20, 2017 with a solo exhibition by Annie McLaughlin.

The Goddess / The Mother, our special pop-up with designer Jess Beebe of Linea & Rosette is on view April 7–9 & April 15–16 with an opening reception Friday, April 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.

FORM FACTOR INSPIRATION: LEROY SETZIOL & LOUISE NEVELSON

For her series Form Factor (currently on view at Nationale), Emily Counts found inspiration in the carved wood panels of Portland artist, Leroy Setziol (1915–2005) and the monochrome wooden assemblages of New York artist, Louise Nevelson (1899–1988).

Leroy Setziol large wood panel carvings, photo: @thegoodmod

Emily Counts, Age of Consent, 2017, porcelain, stoneware, glass, maple wood, and mortar, 20 x 16 x 1.5"

Leroy Setziol, Untitled, 1991, teak, Collection of Carole Smith and Eric Kittleson.

Emily Counts, California Gentlewoman, 2017, porcelain, stoneware, glass, maple wood, and mortar, 20 x 16 x 1.5"

Louise Nevelson, Dawn's Wedding Chapel IV, painted wood, 9' 1" x 7' 3" x 1' 1.5", photo: Pace Gallery

Emily Counts, The Floor and Ceiling, 2017, porcelain, stoneware, glass, maple wood, and mortar,10.5 x 10.5 x 2.5"

Louise Nevelson, Big Black, 1963, painted wood, 9' 1/4" x 10' 5 3/4" x 12", photo: MoMA NY

LINEA & ROSETTE / A POP-UP!

Photo by Giovanna Parolari

Nationale is pleased to announce a special pop-up with Portland artist and clothing designer, Jess Beebe of Linea and Rosette. Nearly every ancient culture worshipped goddesses. These female figures of strength and reliance represented the creators of life, but the power of the divine feminine in modern culture has been subsumed by patriarchal norms. For The Goddess / The Mother, Beebe created each garment as an homage to a specific goddess, bringing these often forgotten ancient figures into contemporary life. Her dresses, made from a mix of new and vintage fabrics and often dyed with natural pigments from plants and vegetables, connect each wearer to the natural world and their own inner power. The Goddess / The Mother also includes garments for children—under her new label, Rosette—bringing our attention to the notion of family, legacy, and connection through the wearables we pass down from generation to generation.  Join us Friday, April 7 (6–8 p.m.) for the reception. The pop-up is on view April 7–9, 2017. More information HERE.

SHORT REVIEW OF "FORM FACTOR" IN THE WWEEK TODAY

What better way to celebrate the last week of gallery artist Emily Counts' solo exhibition, Form Factor, than with a recommended pick from Jennifer Rabin in the Willamette Week. The show runs through April 6, 2017.

ELIZABETH MALASKA IN THE GODDESS SHOW AT RAINMAKER

Painting by Eryn Boone

Congratulations to Elizabeth Malaska for her inclusion in The Goddess Show, organized by Rachel Brown-Smith and Veronica Reeves at the Rainmaker Artist Residency. This exhibition of West Coast artists highlights feminine divinity and spirituality that is independent of patriarchal ideology. Malaska is in good company, showing here with Hayley Barker, Jason Berlin, Eryn Boone, Rachel Brown-Smith, Anna Fider, and Veronica Reeves. The two paintings she is presenting have never been exhibited before. Can't wait for this!

On view April 7—29, 2017
Opening reception Friday, April 7 (6—9 p.m.)
Rainmaker Gallery at Rainmaker Artist Residency
2337 NW York St. #201
Portland, OR 97210

NATIONALE ON SIGHT UNSEEN

Amy Bernstein's January 2017 exhibition featured in this Sight Unseen article about Nationale

Our exhibitions with Amy Bernstein, Francesca Capone, and Emily Counts were featured this week on Sight Unseen. Read more HERE.