Tonight from 6-8 pm, Nationale (811 E Burnside) will host their second installment in a series titled Merchants in Residence. According to the press release for the event, the series “reconciles the two aspects of Nationale, the gallery and the shop, by inviting artists to share with us books, records, and products of all kinds that mean a lot to them, both in their art practice and in their everyday life.” Tonight's artist-turned-merchant is local illustrator and installation guru Storm Tharp, who you might know for his TBA:10 exhibit High House, his many great shows at PDX Contemporary, or his buzzed-about jump to the big leagues for the 2010 Whitney Biennial.

Tharp seems like an appropriate artist for Merchants in Residence, particularly in the context of his TBA:10 installation, High House— a space piecing together art, pop culture, and autobiographical ephemera— designed to represent what keeps the artist happy while working through duller stretches of studio practice. (For more on High House, click here.) Similarly, Merchants will mine Tharp's personality by indexing some of the everyday things he holds dear.

May Barruel, owner and director of Nationale, says the night will be “very informal.” The always-fascinating Tharp will introduce his new additions to the shop's stock, while a limited-edition mix CD compiled by the artist will accompany purchases from the collection. When Tharp's Merchants selections are gone, they'll be gone for good.

Again, Nationale is located at 811 E Burnside, and the opening reception for Merchants is tonight from 6-8 pm.