We were so pleased to have one of our favorite design projects showcased in the AZ Republic last Saturday 02.07.09. Susan Felt wrote a great article that I have posted below. We wish you could all see the magnificent color in this house and meet the wonderful people who live in it.
Centered on a wall in José and Frances Burruel's house are three paintings by Guatemalan artist Nicolas Reanda. The center one is a portrait of an old Mayan woman, her face finely lined and her gaze fixed and knowing.
When they spotted the painting at an exhibit at the Heard Museum, Frances recalls her husband saying, "We have to buy it. It looks like my grandmother. "
Since then, the Burruels have purchased other paintings by Reanda. Two flank the painting that reminds José of his grandmother.
And like artists whose paintings, etchings, prints and sculpture are displayed throughout the couple's home, Reanda too has become a friend and frequent house guest.
The Burruels, along with three other homeowners, are sharing their homes and art collections as part of the Friends of Mexican Art home tour and mercado Feb. 22. It's the 45th year that this non-profit group has sponsored a tour, the chief means of raising money to support its efforts to foster cultural ties with Mexico and raise an awareness of Mexican and Hispanic art by acquiring pieces for Valley museums.
The Burruels' collection hangs in every space, from bathroom walls to the hallways. And like parents' photographs of their children, the art inspires affectionate stories either about the artists or about where, when and how they found the piece.
A retired school superintendent, Arizona State University professor and the first Mexican-American from metro Phoenix to graduate from ASU with a doctorate in education, José has written a b ook, Mexicans in Scottsdale, about growing up in the Mexican barrio of what is now Old Scottsdale. He and his wife are tireless supporters of the Mexican and Native American cultures and their art.
In the Burruels' case, the artwork has also inspired the redo of their gracious, 30-year-old ranch house that is built on an acre near the foot of Camelback Mountain.
The walls of the spacious three-bedroom home were all the ubiquitous Navajo white, Frances said, until designers Kathleen and Megan Desmond, co-owners of Desmond Design, were brought in to give the home a face lift.
The Reanda paintings in the living room helped form the color palette of toasty, warm-hued umbers, tobacco and bright turquoise, greens and red accents.
Frances said she always thought only white walls would adequately display artwork.
"Was I wrong," she said, looking at the artwork hanging on the honey-colored walls of her home.
The kitchen with a large window overlooking the lush backyard went from white to a bright apple green. A grouping of black-and-white etchings, charcoals and pen-and-ink drawings that had hung throughout the house were gathered, edited and displayed on one wall.
It gave those pieces so much more presence, Frances said.
In the same kitchen eating area, another grouping was created. These were graphic block prints by a Burruel nephew of his mother's cookstove.
It's this rearrangement of their artwork and furniture that most delights Frances. It has given them a whole new home, she says, and a new perspective for their collection of paintings and artwork by such artists as Ben Harjo, Amado Pena, Michael Chiago, Chesney Sevier, Doug Hyde and Nelda Schrupp.
When these artists gather for the biannual Heard Museum art festivals, the Burruel home has become the reunion place.
Like the artwork they've collected throughout the years, the Burruels have also assembled a group of artists who are like family.
"I still don't think of us as collectors," Frances said. "Everything we have has a sentimental value."
