PARTY STORE/SUPER MODE [EMILY COUNTS]

Nationale proudly presents a flash exhibition of Emily Counts’s newest work, as well as a special musical event: Party Store performs with Super Mode!

Super Mode is an interactive sound sculpture by Emily Counts recently shown as part of Sonic Arcade at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. It consists of a walnut wood box topped with ceramic objects that trigger individual sound samples when pressed downward. Illuminated windows in Super Mode allow the user to view the interior mechanics and wiring of this piece. Programming and circuitry design by Andy Myers and sound samples by Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. 

Emily Counts was born in Seattle, WA, where she currently lives and works. She studied at the Hochschule der Kunste in Berlin and the California College of the Arts, where she received her BFA. Her work has been exhibited in Portland, OR, at Nationale, Carl & Sloan, and Disject; in New York at the Museum of Arts and Design; in Tokyo at Eitoeiko and Gallery Lara; and in California at the Torrance Art Museum, Garboushian Gallery, and Mark Moore Gallery. Counts was an artist in residence creating work for associated solo exhibitions at Raid Projects in Los Angeles and Plane Space in New York. She has received grants from the Oregon Arts Commission, the Regional Arts & Culture Council, and The Ford Family Foundation. She is a member of SOIL Gallery in Seattle, WA, and is represented by Nationale in Portland, OR. / IG @emilyraecounts

Party Store is a lo-fi ambient project by Seattle musician Josh Machniak. 

On view: April 21–April 22, 2018
Opening reception: Saturday, April 21 (6–8 p.m.) with a 20 mins performance at 7 p.m.

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.

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.

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.

ART PASSPORT PDX LAUNCH PARTY TOMORROW AT BLUE SKY GALLERY

For more info on these $1000 + under pieces, check Nationale's Collecting page

Nationale is thrilled to be part of Art Passport PDX, a new initiative by Portland artist/writer, Jennifer Rabin to get people into galleries and demystify the art buying process. We have put together a collection of work all under $1000 on our website (under COLLECTING). See you tomorrow night for the launch party at Blue Sky Gallery (6–8p.m.)!

NXT LVL 2.0 // NATIVE NATIONS GATHERING AFTER PARTY THIS FRIDAY

Join NXT LVL (pronounced NEXT LEVEL) for the after party for Stand With Native Nations - National Solidarity Gathering *OREGON* on Friday, March 10th (9 p.m.–2 a.m.) at Jade Club (315 SE 3rd Ave.)! This rad event features: DJ Kathy Foster of the Thermals, Gila River Monster, DJ Dirty Red, with Live Performance by Burial Ground Sound, Fish Martinez & Kunu Dittmer. 

Proceeds benefit the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, Water Protector Legal Collective & Portland Menstrual Society. $5-$20 sliding scale (cash only at the door).

YOUNG COLLECTOR EVENT / A RECAP

The gallery hung salon style for one night only during our Young Collector Event on March 1st

Over the years we’ve had many friends and visitors to Nationale tell us that they are interested in starting an art collection but are unsure of how to start, what to buy, and if they have enough funds to be an art collector. These conversations and THIS insightful article by Jennifer Rabin on collecting local artists (gotta love the headline: "skip the second latte (or fourth beer) and buy a fucking painting"), led us to our inaugural Young Collector Event last week.

Current collectors, budding collectors, and artists, gathered for a lively evening in the gallery featuring work by over 20 artists. This one night salon style installation was meant to provide a survey of the breadth and depth of the work we show at Nationale, and to set the stage for the evenings' conversation.

May (Nationale Owner/Director) started the conversation off by sharing her art collecting journey. She also brought the first piece she ever purchased and the most recent work she collected. Coincidentally, both pieces were purchased from coffee shops, which is a great tip for those collecting on a budget, as many coffee shops show wonderful emerging artists with work available at an affordable price point. Perhaps the main takeaway from May’s story was that art collecting is deeply personal for her. She buys from a very intuitive place; when she has an emotional or even physical reaction to a piece, she knows she must take it home.

Writer, artist, and visual arts enthusiast, Jennifer Rabin, was our guest speaker for the evening. She continued the conversation with Gabi (Nationale’s Assistant Director), sharing her childhood memories of her grandfather’s collection. Jennifer also spoke about her own strategy for collecting, which is to set aside $100 a month towards buying art. Sometimes she spends it on one $100 piece, other times she saves over months to collect something at higher price point. She can do this because many galleries, including Nationale, offer payment plans, easing the financial burden of collecting. Jennifer reminded us of the importance of collecting local artists because it keeps our visual arts community vibrant. With nine galleries closing in Portland last year, it is vitally important that we work together to support our artists and the galleries that show them. Who wants to live in a city with no artists and no galleries?!

The conversation with Jennifer blossomed into a great dialogue with the audience. Among the many thoughtful contributors were: Kirk James, art collector and owner of a local design and branding agency, who spoke about his experience collecting and the importance of visual art in his life; Libby Werbel, curator/founder of Portland Museum of Modern Art, who reflected on how we can bring more people to galleries, especially recent Portland transplants; and Stephanie Chefas, who shared her experience as a fellow gallery owner in Portland.

Thank you to all the artists and friends who attended this inspiring evening! We hope to continue the conversation with more projects and events in the near future. If you are interested in being involved please email us at info@nationale.us. Also, we encourage any budding collectors to sign up for Jennifer Rabin’s innovative new program, Art Passport PDX, which gives you a great excuse to visit eight galleries in Portland (including Nationale) and enter to win $1600 to spend on art. Sign up on their website HERE. Pick up your passport at the launch party on Thursday, March 16 (6–8 p.m.) at Blue Sky Gallery (122 NW 8th Avenue). If you can’t make it to the launch, come by Nationale any day after the 16th to pick up a passport!

JON RAYMOND IN CONVERSATION WITH PETER ROCK AT NATIONALE

Nationale is excited to host a special friends & family event in celebration of Jon Raymond's new novel FREEBIRD (Graywolf Press). Join us on Tuesday, March 7 (7 p.m.) for a conversation between Jon and fellow Portland writer, Peter Rock at Nationale.

Jon Raymond in Conversation with Peter Rock
Tuesday, March 7 (7 p.m.)
Nationale
3360 SE Division St.
Portland, OR 97215

BIOS
Jon Raymond is the author of Rain Dragon and The Half-Life, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2004, and the short-story collection Livability, a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and winner of the Oregon Book Award. He is also the screenwriter of the film Meek's Cutoff and co-writer of the films Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy, both based on his short fiction, and the film Night Moves. He cowrote the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce, winner of five Emmy Awards. Raymond's writing has appeared in Tin House, the Village Voice, Bookforum, Artforum, and other publications. He lives in Portland, OR.

Peter Rock has published eight works of fiction, most recently Klickitat. He lives in Portland, OR with his wife and two fierce young daughters, and teaches writing at Reed College. His novel-within-photographs, Spells, will be published by Counterpoint in April. The adaptation of his novel My Abandonment, directed by Debra Granik, will begin filming in Portland this Spring.

TEXT MEANS TISSUE // PUBLICATION RELEASE & READING

With more than 30 contributing artists, "Text means Tissue" is the accompanying publication to Francesca Capone's solo exhibition, currently on view at Nationale. Please join us at Nationale this Sunday, February 26 (3–5p.m.) for the release & reading. Come help us celebrate this extraordinary project and see the show one more time!

Readings by: Francesca Capone, Patricia No, Anahita Jamali Rad, Alayna Rasile Digrindakis, Catie Hannigan, and Molly Schaeffer.

Thank you to all the contributors: Alexandra Barlow, Anna-Sophie Berger, Jen Bervin, Amaranth Borsuk, Tess Brown-Lavoie, Charity Coleman, Corina Copp, Elizabeth Crawford, Alayna Rasile Digrindakis, Ricki Dwyer, Catie Hannigan, Marwa Helal, Emily Hunt, Lucy Ives, Rin Johnson, Mariette Lamson, Sophia Le Fraga, Monica McClure, Helen Mirra, Katy Mongeau, Kristen Mueller, Vi Khi Nao, Patricia No, Antonia Pinter, Anahita Jamali Rad, Emmalea Russo, Molly Schaeffer, Martha Tuttle, Rachel Valinsky, Cecilia Vicuña, Rosmarie Waldrop, Tali Weinberg, and Laura A. Warman.

PADA PANEL DISCUSSION: SHAPING EMERGING ARTISTS 1/21

Please join gallery artist Elizabeth Malaska and Nationale Assistant Director, Gabi Lewton-Leopold for a PADA panel discussion alongside: Stephanie Chefas, gallerist; Rory ONeal, artist; Michelle Ross, artist and teacher; and Peter Simensky, teacher and artist at Blackfish Gallery. The panel will be discussing important questions surrounding emerging artists in our community, such as: What are the forces shaping the development of Portland's emerging artists? How do arts professionals in Portland negotiate the trick dance between creativity and commerce?

Saturday, January 21, 2017
2-3pm
Blackfish Gallery
420 SW 9th Ave

The talk is free and open to the public!

THE NEED FOR BOOKS // FREDRIK AVERIN & DELPHINE BEDIENT

THE NEED FOR BOOKS
bookmakers, collectors, writers

DATE CHANGE:
Sunday, January 22 (3–5 p.m.)
Short talk by Fredrik Averin at 3:30 p.m.

If you go home with somebody, and they don't have books, don't f**k 'em! –John Waters

Calling all book lovers! Nationale is excited to kick off 2017 with a book event featuring bookmaker/designer/collector Fredrik Averin, and writer/maker/publisher Delphine Bedient. Join us for an informative afternoon, which will include a short talk from Averin about his extensive vintage book collection, browse the books made by these two innovative local artists, and help us celebrate Bedient’s most recent book, Every Single Piece of Blue Clothing That I Currently Own. Nationale will also be highlighting one of our most beloved publishers, Haymarket Books, who brought us Rebecca Solnit’s Men Explain Things to Me (our bestseller) and more recently, Angela Davis’ Freedom Is a Constant Struggle, to name just a few. The Need for Books marks the first in a series of events highlighting our library and the work of inspiring bookmakers.

Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Fredrik Averin received his MFA from Konstfack – University College of Arts, Crafts, and Design in 1998. His work is included in the following libraries: University of Oregon, University of Washington, University of Buffalo, Columbia University, Stanford University, SFMOMA, and MACBA: Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, and in Portland, OR, at Division Leap, Passages Bookshop, and Nationale. Averin currently lives and works in Portland, OR.

Delphine Bedient is a writer and maker currently based in Portland, OR. She writes fiction and also runs Sincerely Analog Press, which publishes conceptually-minded books focusing on the contemporary ephemera and marginalia of human existence. Her writing has been published by Blunderbuss Magazine and Fog Machine, and a collection of her short fiction, entitled Down and Out on a Yacht, is available from Two Plum Press. She spends most of her time touching books.

HELLO, LADIES!

Hilary Horvath
Holly Stalder
Kate Towers
Nahanni Arntzen
Sea + Pattern
Skin by Ori 

Sunday, December 18 (1–3PM) 

Nationale is excited to announce a special evening with clothing designers Nahanni Arntzen, Holly Stalder, and Kate Towers; jewelry designer Sea + Pattern; and featuring mistletoe from florist Hilary Horvath. Whether designing in fabric, clay, or flowers, these five artists create unique & beautiful work. Skin By Ori will be offering her amazing lip sugar waxing. For one evening only, come meet these rad women and experience their captivating ways. 

☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄ ☃❄

Hilary Horvath is dedicated to sourcing the most beautiful, local flowers to feature in her shop & for her clients. One of her favorite and distinguished customers has said, "not even in Paris are the flowers this beautiful." Hilary is constantly amazed and inspired by the offerings of the many flower growers with whom she is fortunate to know in the Pacific Northwest. Hilary Horvath Flowers is located inside Alder & Co in downtown Portland.

Holly Stalder is a clothing designer, bridal designer, and shop owner holding court at 811 East Burnside in Portland, OR. Her days consist of dreaming up and making fanciful clothing in her tiny treasure box of a store, HAUNT where her two clothing labels, HOLLY STALDER and THE DIAMOND SEA BRIDAL, can be found. She is sweet, likes to accept challenges, and loves anything over a 100 years old. Since she established her business in 2000, she has been featured in national magazines, including Elle, Martha Stewert Weddings, The Wall Street Journal, Bust, and Venus. She is hands down what Nationale has missed the most since moving to Division in 2014.

Self taught through experimentation and an artist’s vision, Kate Towers creates non-seasonal one of a kind clothing. From 2000–2007, Towers was co-founder and co-owner of seaplane, a renowned shop in Portland featuring local designers and an intriguing collection of hand-made clothing. It is there that she developed her own line and helped inspire the fashion scene that is now Portland. She works out of her studio—located at 1215 SE 8th, Suite C—during the hours of Portland Public School. Visitors welcome! 

Nahanni Arntzen was born in a teepee in Kingdom Inlet, 11 miles up the river on a sandbar, way out there on the Southwest coast of British Columbia, Canada. Partly inspired by the styles she grew up with, as well as for a desire to expand her everyday jeans and t-shirt uniform, Nahanni designs clothing to be worn anywhere. All pieces are designed and produced onsite in her studio in Portland, OR (located at 1215 SE 8th, Suite C).  

Sea + Pattern is a Portland-based minimalist jewelry line and lifestyle blog with an edge by Britt Campagna Hawkes. There she shares her unique perspective and provide inspiration to all lovers of design.

Skin By Ori is the practice of Oriana Lewton-Leopold, a licensed esthetician and certified Reiki practitioner. She specializes in holistic facials using organic, plant based products that incorporate massage and healing touch, as well as natural sugar hair removal. Sugaring is an art form dating back to ancient Egypt. Using a paste made of sugar, lemon and water, it is molded to the skin and then flicked off, gently extracting hair at the follicle. Oriana’s background as an artist guides her as she helps her clients tap into their inner beauty, enhancing what makes them uniquely lovely. Skin By Ori is located across the street from Nationale, within Luminary Salon.

JAIK FAULK OPENING RECEPTION THURSDAY

Jaik with Wolf Mask (2016)

We are thrilled to welcome Jaik Faulk back to Nationale for, "I feel alright with azaleas around," his fifth solo exhibition with the gallery. Jaik left Louisiana last Monday to drive his new paintings to Portland. Somewhere around Texas and New Mexico, he somehow took a wrong turn, which led him through the darkest stretch he'd ever driven. For three hours he saw no lights, no towns, no sign of life. It was at that exact time on the radio that the media called the election for Donald J. Trump. With this in mind, I'd like to thank Jaik not only for making the 2500-mile trek but for these haunting and beautiful new southern paintings.
Please join us tomorrow Thursday, November 17 for the reception (6—8 p.m.)

CARSON ELLIS BOOK SIGNING NOVEMBER 13!

Please join us on Sunday, November 13 (2—3pm) as we welcome gallery artist Carson Ellis back to Nationale for a special event celebrating the release of her new book, Du Iz Tak? 

Limited quantities available. We recommend you reserve your signed copy now. See you next Sunday!

Praise for Du Iz Tak?

Ellis’s bewitching creation stars a lively company of insects who speak a language unrelated to English, and working out what they are saying is one of the story’s delights...Very gently, Ellis suggests that humans have no idea what wonders are unfolding at their feet—and that what takes place in the lives of insects is not so different from their own. Has there ever been anything quite like it? Ma nazoot. —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Ellis elevates gibberish to an art form with her brilliant account of a few bugs, who discover a green shoot sprouting from the ground...Readers and pre-readers alike will find myriad visual cues in Ellis’ splendid folk-style, gouache-and-ink illustrations that will allow them to draw meaning from the nonsensical dialogue, as well as observe the subtle changing of the seasons. The entire story unfolds on the same small stretch of ground, where each new detail is integral to the scene at hand. Effortlessly working on many levels, Ellis’ newest is outstanding. —Booklist (starred review)

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There’s an elusive yet distinctly joyful quality to Carson Ellis’s picture book that feels like suspended glee, or a laugh caught halfway in the throat. As in her 2015 debut, “Home,” the gouache and ink illustrations in “Du Iz Tak?” are chic and subtly witty. But this time Ms. Carson matches them with dialogue in the enchanting foreign language of the elegantly dressed beetles and insects that live on a small, eventful patch of earth. —The Wall Street Journal

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In a wordless coda of successive double-page spreads we are comforted by the cycle of the seasons. By the final words, “Du iz tak?” we are fluent speakers of Bug. Completely scrivadelly, this is a tour de force of original storytelling. —Horn Book (starred review)

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Carson Ellis has created a fantastic microcosm with her usual grace and inventiveness...I was completely captivated by Ellis’s wonderful creatures, their charming little world and their droll language. —The New York Times Book Review

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High drama ensues in the clean, odd, beautiful pages ahead. A marvel. —Shelf Awareness for Readers

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Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

ELIZABETH MALASKA OPENING RECEPTION THIS SUNDAY!

Elizabeth Malaska, We Shall Speak and It Shall Be So and What We Say Will be All You Know, 2016, oil, Flashe, spray paint, and pencil on canvas, 22 x 18"

Two years in the making, artist Elizabeth Malaksa's powerful new body of work proves that painting can be a catalyst for action in the struggle against our global culture of patriarchal aggression. As Sarah Sentilles writes in her essay for the exhibition catalog:

Malaska has taken on the fraught feminist challenge of painting women without objectifying women. It is as if Picasso's models have come to life (perhaps they are Malaska's awakened dead?), marching out of his canvases in protest and into hers.

Please join us this Sunday, September 4 (3–6PM) for the opening reception of When We Dead Awaken II. 

CLOSING RECEPTION W/ AMANDA & ANASTASIA // POP UP W/ LASSO

Amanda Leigh Evans + Anastasia Greer 

Please join us this Sunday, August 28 (3–5PM) for Amanda Leigh Evans & Anastasia Greer's closing reception, as well as a special pop up with LASSO (NYC). It's your last chance to see this lovely show, and meet Myranda Gillies of LASSO who will be sharing her new collection of bronze & silver rings and chignon pins. 

New bronze chignon pins from LASSO! 

SAVE THE DATE: POP-UP EXHIBITION & PERFORMANCE WITH RIKKI ROTHENBERG

New work from Rikki Rothenberg

We are excited to announce a special pop-up exhibition with Rikki Rothenberg from August 29-30, 2016. Please save the date for the reception & performance on August 29 (6-8pm). More info below! 

RIKKI ROTHENBERG
Special pop-up exhibition August 29 & 30, 2016
Reception & performance Monday, August 29 (6-8 p.m.)

Nationale proudly presents a pop-up exhibition of new works by Rikki Rothenberg, an artist and therapist currently living in Los Angeles, CA. Between 2009 and 2012, Rothenberg had three solo exhibitions at Nationale and performed here numerous times, either solo or with her aesthetically-inclined, trans-pop-culture, dance-therapy performance group, Woolly Mammoth Comes to Dinner. We are thrilled to welcome back this old friend of the gallery!

The first I noticed it was four years ago while driving through Big Sur. From the coastal highway cliffs these majestic dusty blues and sage greens, vibrant colors set against chalky burnt sienna – were both death and aliveness. I could sit here and stare at these colors, I thought to myself. I could paint this for years. Although I have not focused on landscape or representational work, I felt as though I understood what it meant to be called to the landscape of a place.

Two years later while out walking near my home, I spotted the corpse of a seagull on the inside of the chain linked reservoir wall. I passed that corpse for months. The coyotes seemed to not have wanted this one. It decayed over time, drying out, losing its fur and turning to bone. I would walk by searching for something in this form and wondering.

That awareness of death amidst life, it was profound and humbling. My work as a therapist and artist ultimately intertwine: holding awareness for pain and potential, loss and inspiration. Noticing a breeze by the movement of the leaves, the branches, the flowers. How they dance for our attention. Aiming to replicate the experience—giving space to your lungs, back, neck, jaw, shoulder, legs, and feet. I feel it in my body, that strength and resilience, imperfectly beautiful, organized, repetitive, diverse, and specific.

Rikki Rothenberg is a visual and performance artist. She offers psychotherapy in private practice in Pasadena, CA. Rothenberg earned a BFA in Sculpture from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and a MA in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She most recently presented a series of new artwork and a performance in a show entitled Divinjnowshoe supported by a residency at PAM. She lives in Los Angeles, CA.

AMANDA LEIGH EVANS & ANASTASIA GREER

Left: Amanda Leigh Evans, Bridle, 2016, terra cotta and underglaze, 5 x 3 x 7”
Right: Anastasia Greer, Yelly Delly (detail), 2016, acrylic paint on dyed raw silk, 10 x 8”

We are pleased to announce our August 2016 two person exhibition with recent MFA grads Amanda Leigh Evans (PSU/Art and Social Practice) & Anastasia Greer (PNCA/Visual Studies). Looking forward to sharing their beautiful work with you all. Special thanks to Blair Saxon-Hill & Curtis Knapp. Please join us on Thursday, July 28 (6—8PM) for the opening reception.

More info HERE

TY ENNIS // CLOSING RECEPTION & CATALOG RELEASE PARTY

If you haven't yet had a chance to catch Stupid Man, stop by this Saturday 5:30 - 7:00 for a mellow closing reception. We will also be releasing NATIONALE19, the exhibition catalog which includes an essay by Daniel Kine.

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STUPID MAN by DANIEL KINE

Simplicity involves unburdening one’s life. Errors, oversights, the language of critics. In defining a painting, one takes shots at defining the human experience. Failure, imperfection, hindrance. An honest painting is a reproduction of life, not a reproduction of art. Memory, object association, stories overheard or remembered or interpreted—often void of color or ostensible detail. 

The shift away from the perceptual, or the ability to interpret or become aware of something via the senses, is a modicum of insight into the 21st century experience. The twenty-four hour news cycle, the forty-hour work week, the filtered fifteen-second video. One is just as likely to witness footage from a plane crash on a pay-screen in the backseat of a taxi or on a muted television in a laundromat as they are to encounter an acquaintance in the street. And yet a distortion of reality does not take away from what is real. Perception is not malleable, even if reality is. 

The following collection of paintings were produced loosely, in a rapid manner, with very few materials. They represent development via the act of unburdening; adaption via restraint. Not a return, but a progression. A demonstration not in simplicity, but restriction. Their lack of color and ostensible detail leave one with the impression of an almost Eastern discipline. Pieces like The Clairvoyant (Blue Heron) and Buck Skinner exhibit an interrelation of shade and shape that seem to speak more to cognizance and memory than to image. And yet nothing is lost here. Rather, something veritable is gained through the artist’s demonstrable control. Comedy (Grandma’s Laughing Eskimo) & Tragedy (Grandma’s Crying Eskimo), more like found objects or abrupt memories, serve as an almost Proustian aide to remembrance or loss. The dreamlike quality of interpretation. The intimacy of subjectivity. 

As a whole, Stupid Man is a mingling of veiled emotions, representations and elusive, uneasy figures. Ennis’ subjects are an analysis of memory, experience. Representations not of subjects or forms or applied methods, but of sentiments. The impetuosity of youth. The obstruction of time. The burden of resolve.

DK
New York, May 2016

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Daniel Kine is the author of the novels Between Nowhere and Happiness (2009, Smallhand Press) and Up Nights (2013, Ooligan Press). He was born in Toledo, OH, in 1984, and studied philosophy and literature in San Francisco, Mexico City, Guatemala, and Portland, OR. His writing has appeared in several publications, including Modern Review, Q Poetry, Pathways, and Indie Literature Now. Kine lives in Brooklyn, NY.

This essay was commissioned for the exhibition catalog accompanying Stupid Man and funded by the Regional Arts and Culture Council.

MAY DAY SALE (MAY 1–9)

Nationale is happy to share news of its May Day sale, May 1–May 9, 2016. Items from our home & beauty section—including MCMC fragrances, GRAIN design, Iacoli & McAllister, papier d’Armenie—and select art books will be greatly discounted (up to 40% off). Sale items will also include other beauty lines (Jao & Nuxe), select magazines (Tunica & Lapham’s), small press, and one-offs from local makers (Liam Drain, The Granite, Fredrik Averin). For the budding art collector, the sale extends to the backroom gallery with 10% off art works from past shows—the perfect time to start or add to your collection!