Monday, November 2, 2009

MAY JULIETTE BARRUEL | Opens Nov. 4


May Juliette Barruel's textile-based work and photography address themes of nostalgia, obsession, and loss in an intimate and often voyeuristic fashion. For this exhibition, Barruel investigates a variety of materials in order to reify her experience, and here her voice finds resonance in printed words and embroidered textiles.

Conceptual tapestries and text works accompany Barruel's photographs to create "And Now We Do What We Do", a reflection on a half-life of dating, falling, hoping, pining, loving, and obsessing with its fair share of drunken haircuts, romantic inspirations, ridiculously embarrassing behaviors, and hundreds of hours spent wallowing while listening to songs by Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Bill Callahan. The work is both catharsis and hypothesis, a searching for the existence of truth and love in an endlessly fragmented and often lost contemporary youth culture.

A native of Grenoble, France, May Juliette Barruel lives and works in Portland, OR. She holds a Master of Arts degree in American Literature from l'Université de Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle and a professional certificate from New England School of Photography in Boston, Massachusetts. She has shown work in many cities including Portland, Los Angeles, and Lawrence, KS, and frequently posts images on her blog, à la claire fontaine. Barruel is the curator for Stumptown's downtown gallery and is owner and curator of Nationale, a shop and gallery on Portland's east side.

http://5408miles.blogspot.com

http://nationaleportland.blogspot.com

Public reception: Thursday, November 5th, 6pm-10pm
On view Saturday, November 7th, 12pm-5pm, and by appointment.

No comments: