Do We Collect Them Or Do They Collect Us?
If I could magically transport everyone to Nationale in Portland, Oregon this month, I would never have to write about art collecting again. Everything I believe about the value and accessibility of collecting, and everything I find meaningful about the pursuit, can be seen and felt within those four walls.
When Nationale’s owner/director, May Barruel, learned that the exhibition that had been scheduled for April needed to be postponed, she decided to turn the gallery into a love letter to anyone who has ever brought art into their home or who might one day aspire to. It is as much a show as it is a quiet manifesto.
Barruel handpicked drawings, photographs, paintings, and sculptures from her personal collection to display in the gallery alongside functional and decorative objects from the collection of Portland-based interior designer Laura Housgard who collaborated with Barruel on the show, titled It’s Personal.1
What strikes the viewer is that there is no hierarchy here. A piece purchased directly from an artist for $20 boasts the same pride of place as those purchased at auction or from a gallery. This mirrors an experience that every collector will recognize: that the value ascribed to a work by the outside world is erased the moment it crosses over the threshold of your home. As soon as it becomes a part of your collection, its worth can only be measured by your love and longing for it.
The curatorial statement for the show reads, “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.” It goes on, “For 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.”
Barruel brings in decidedly domestic and romantic touches to underscore the intimate nature of the relationship between collector and the objects in their collection: a dried flower inhabits a tiny vase made by Emma Weber, hunched in front of an unframed work on paper by Carson Ellis; throughout the space, in Barruel’s lilting upright script, the artists’ names are written—on shelves and on walls—next to the pieces they created, as though she were leaving each of them a handwritten note.
Barruel’s enthusiasm for collecting extends far beyond this show and beyond the main gallery. She has created a veritable playground for collectors—both seasoned and aspiring—in the back gallery so as to allow visitors to browse and covet at their leisure. It’s one of the best back rooms in town. Instead of keeping unsold works from previous shows in flat files or cubbies, or secreted away in an area closed to the public, she has dedicated this space to second chances and falling in love. She has long been evangelical in her support of collectors, known to volunteer options for a payment plan without a potential buyer even having to ask.
After having walked through both galleries last week, I left Nationale with a renewed appreciation for collections as living entities. They give us a peak into the heart of the collector—a glimpse of their longings, obsessions, and predilections. Far more than a mere conglomeration of objects, they act as scrapbooks, time machines, and self-portraits of the people who assemble them. And how remarkable that each element of that self-portrait, which reflects a different part of the collector, once lived inside the heart of another person.
It’s Personal is on view at Nationale until April 24th. For all of you seasoned and aspiring collectors, here is the gallery’s statement on collecting:
For our purposes here, I will be focusing primarily on Barruel’s collection, simply because I’m not knowledgeable about interior design, and therefore unable to properly contextualize the works in Housgard’s collection. My uneducated opinion, though, is that her pieces are spectacular and well worth a visit to the gallery just to admire them, especially if you’re an interior design nerd.
jennifer, reading your piece has become a highlight of each week for me. this week is no different. i'm actually cancelling my afternoon plans and taking myself to nationale. i cannot thank you enough for the ways that you have opened my eyes to what collecting really is and why it is so nurturing. i am eternally grateful...
What a perfect illustration of so many things you illuminate about the nature of art and what our relationship to it (and to collecting) can be! This made me feel like I was there. Thank you for that and for the ongoing exploration!