From his workshop in Villa Elisa, Argentina, Luciano Polverigiani (previously) creates small and medium format ceramics that teeter between traditional sculpture and toys. Currently fascinated by the relationship between form and function, the artist often reflects on how his materials are inextricably linked to each piece’s use. “We generally associate ceramic material with fragility; ceramic objects break if they fall on the ground or are handled roughly,” he tells Colossal. “I am interested in reflecting on the ‘use’ that we will give to ceramics. In this sense, I begin to work with the idea of a ceramic toy.”

The artist brings the contradictory idea of the ceramic toy to life through a curious menagerie of creatures, each radiating with personality. And while many toys feature some kind of moveable aspect or configurable parts, Polverigiani embraces the incongruity between clay’s rigidity and the inherent action of play. By incorporating wheels and creating small figures that are meant to fit inside others, the artist pushes the boundaries between ceramic sculpture and movement.

In the past few years, Polverigiani has cultivated relationships with other ceramicists during his travels, and he is currently working on organizing a collective exhibition. You can follow him on Instagram for updates, and find more work on Behance.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Luciano Polverigiani’s Ceramic Toys Explore Material, Function, and Movement appeared first on Colossal.

Antennae spring from the crown of a grasshopper, and an alert expression characterizes a cacomixtle’s beady eyes in George Rodriguez’s vibrant portraits of Mexican fauna. In his ongoing Mexican Zodiac series, the artist takes inspiration from the Great Race myth and the birth of the Chinese zodiac. “I wanted to continue to explore themes of protection, inclusion, and sanctity using the Chinese zodiac as a framework,” he tells Colossal. “I was also inspired by Ai Weiwei’s ‘Circle of Animals’ sculpture recreating the 12 animal heads of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing.”

Rodriguez initially made all of the Chinese zodiac animals in homage to the original stories, then landed on the idea of bringing the narrative closer to his own home and creating a parallel Mexican version. “Instead of the Year of the Rat, it would be el Año del Chapulín (grasshopper),” he says. “Instead of Year of the Tiger, it would be el Año del Jaguar. I have fun translating the different animal characteristics into animals that would be found in and around Mexico.”

“El Cacomixtle”

Mexican Zodiac has taken numerous forms, including a sprigging style—a kind of low relief decoration—that Rodriguez employs in much of his work, followed by a version brightly colored like Alebrijes, a style of small, vibrant wooden animals traditionally made in Oaxaca. The artist finished a third version in a metallic glaze that mirrored Ai’s originals, a fourth utilized a style of illustrated pottery known as Talavera, and the most recent involved collaborating with 13 other artists for a project titled El Zodiaco Familiar. Rodriguez has also translated animals of the lunar calendar into a series called Lunar Vessels, some of which are also shown below.

An exhibition of the artist’s work opens at West Virginia University’s Paul Mesaros Gallery on August 24, and another solo show opens in Denver at Visions West Contemporary on November 9. El Zodiaco Familiar is currently on view at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens through September 10, and you can find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

“Toro.” Collaboration with Marilyn Montufar

“El Venado”

“Venado Azul.” Collaboration with Carolina Jimenez

“La Cabra”

‘Lunar Vessels’

“La Iguana”

“Ox”

“Ram”

Left to right: “Snake,” “Dragon,” and “Rooster”

“El Quetzalcoatl”

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Exuberant Patterns Bring Ceramic Creatures to Life in George Rodriguez’s ‘Mexican Zodiac’ appeared first on Colossal.

Dealers across the European Union are lobbying their governments to seize the window of opportunity offered by an EU law to reduce value-added tax rates for art.

The new directive, passed on 5 April 2022, aims to contribute to a single EU-wide VAT system that still gives member states the right to set their own rates internally. Reduced VAT rates—no lower than 5% of the full price of an item—can be applied to specified goods and services deemed to “pursue objectives of general interest”. Countries are required to align national laws with the new directive by the end of 2024.

Under the previous value-added tax directive passed in 2006, art was excluded from the list of products and services eligible for reduced VAT rates. But the new directive includes “supply of works of art, collectors’ items and antiques” in an annex listing 29 product groups that also comprise children’s clothing and footwear, live plants, admission to cultural events, books, newspapers and low-emission heating products.

Crippled market

In Italy (as reported in The Art Newspaper last month), the government is poised to reduce the rate of import VAT for art arriving from countries outside the common market to 5.5%, the same as the French rate. In Germany, dealers see an opportunity to reduce VAT for domestic galleries to 7% from the current 19%, which they say is crippling the market and has long been a bone of contention.

For France, action is imperative because its current system, under which dealers apply VAT only to their profit margins, is no longer admissible under the new directive. The so-called margin scheme has enabled galleries in France to apply an effective VAT rate lower than 6%, says Gaëlle de Saint Pierre, a tax expert at France’s Comité Professionnel des Galeries d’Art. The prospect of the margin scheme’s disappearance has dismayed dealers and propelled the association into intensive discussions with the finance ministry.

“The closest solution to the current system is a 5.5% VAT rate for all art sales,” De Saint Pierre says. “The reduced rate would apply to everyone. The government will probably make a decision this year. They don’t want galleries to leave France and go to London.”

France’s favourable VAT rates for art have helped the domestic market to flourish. The low rate of import VAT has positioned the country as the EU’s gateway for art from outside the bloc, while the margin scheme has benefited domestic dealers. With total sales close to $5bn, France’s share of the global art market rose to 7% in 2022 from 3% in 2001—making it the fourth largest market globally—and it accounted for more than half of the EU market, according to Art Basel and UBS’s The Art Market 2023 report.

In contrast, Germany, Europe’s largest economy, accounted for just 2% of the world market in 2022. For around a decade, dealers’ association the Bundesverband Deutscher Galerien und Kunsthändler (BVDG) has been pushing for a re-introduction of the reduced 7% rate for art that applied under German law until 2014. Germany was forced to scrap that rate by the European Commission and impose the general VAT rate of 19% on dealers because art was excluded from the list of goods and services eligible for reduced rates under the 2006 directive. Only artists can take advantage of the lower 7% rate.

Unprecedented opportunity

“The unequal tax treatment of artists and their dealers had consequences: dozens of galleries closed down, newcomers stayed away and growth on the art market stagnated,” says Birgit Maria Sturm, the BVDG’s managing director. “German galleries were not only subjected to unequal treatment vis à vis artists, but also to a distortion of competition within the EU.”

German dealers competed not only with France’s margin scheme, but also with dealers in Belgium and Luxembourg who managed to circumvent the full VAT rate. In Belgium and Luxembourg, many dealers have redefined themselves as agents representing artists; by asking artists to send invoices directly to collectors, they can charge a reduced rate.

Sturm sees an unprecedented opportunity to restore the reduced rate for German galleries and has corresponded with the culture ministry, which she says is sympathetic to the plight of dealers. The ministry is, in turn, in contact with the finance ministry. She expects a reduced VAT rate for art to figure in discussions about the federal budget this autumn.

“The door is wide open,” she says. “The government has a chance to prove that it is serious about its commitment to strengthen cultural industries.”

Smaller countries may also seize their chance. In Austria, an emergency temporary reduction in VAT on art to 5% was applied during the pandemic, says Ernst Hilger, a dealer and board member of the Federation of European Art Galleries Association.

“It was immensely helpful, much more so than cash handouts,” Hilger says. Austrian galleries are lobbying the government for a permanently lower rate of VAT, he says: “We very much hope that the rate will be reduced.”

If you’re hoping for a summer getaway that’s both close to home and feels like a world away, look no further than Easton, Maryland.

A day of browsing charming stores, visiting a world-class art museum and exploring local history can give way to an evening of elevated dining and renowned performers.

Situated about 70 miles away from downtown D.C., it’s close enough for a day trip. Easton also works as an excursion if you’re taking a long vacation in Ocean City, Maryland, or Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

But how did a small Eastern Shore town get up to Easton’s level?

The Tidewater Inn says it traces its roots back 300 years, and its historic Hunter’s Tavern and chef of 50 years, Raymond Copper, have welcomed Elizabeth Taylor, Bing Crosby and other celebrities.

More recently, a lot of the town’s recent tourist development has been driven by Paul Prager and his company Bluepoint Hospitality Group, which have invested tens of millions in the town. It’s behind numerous restaurants, a bookstore and more.

“When times were difficult, there were a lot of boarded-up storefronts. And then we brought the buildings up to code, and we were very sensitive to the architecture in the period,” Prager said. “And then we needed businesses to put in them. And I thought, why not have fun?”

The Scene’s Tommy McFly headed to Easton to explore a culture-rich area full of history, interesting flavors and surprises on every corner, and found something for visitors of all kinds.

Things to do in Easton, Maryland

Shopping

Explore the quaint town and stop by antique stores and other unique shops.

At Flying Cloud Bookstore, you can pick up your next read. And next door at Flying Cloud Fine Art Posters, you can browse a collection of truly impressive vintage posters. The 800-poster-strong collection of vintage art includes food and beverage ads, travel posters, and war propaganda pieces, according to Carlie Lindeberg, general manager for the shop.

WRC / Maggie More

“We mostly source them from auction, but once in a while, people come to us and say they have posters that they found,” Lindeberg said. “We had a local gentleman that found a couple war posters in his attic, and we sent them to a conservationist to be preserved. It’s just kind of fun.”

Every poster for sale in the shop is an original print run poster, Lindeberg said.

Among Flying Cloud’s offerings this summer: an original printing of Milton Glaser’s psychedelic profile art of Bob Dylan, works by Theophile Steinlen (best known for his famous Chat Noir poster) and pieces by James Montgomery Flagg, who designed the iconic “I Want You” Uncle Sam recruitment ad during World War II.

“When it was done, they’re basically advertisements,” Lindeberg said. “The purpose of the older ones, too, were to be plastered on the streets of Paris. So these were extra that were printed, that weren’t used, that we got to save over time.”

Art

A thriving arts scene includes galleries, the Avalon Foundation — which hosts performances in its historic theater, plus free outdoor concerts — and the Prager Family Center for the Arts, which puts on movie nights and concerts, including by its celebrated artist-in-residence Gabriela Montero.

The Academy Art Museum, which has shown works by Mary Cassatt, Francisco Goya and Rembrandt, is a must-see. This August, visitors can walk through an “immersive, large-scale installation” in which Hoesy Corona explores the impacts of climate change; the work of Pablo Picasso, Jacques Villon and Giorgio Morandi at the “Spatial Reckoning” exhibit (opens Aug. 1) and an exhibition by emerging Eastern Shore artists (opens Aug. 18).

The museum hosts talks, yoga in the galleries and classes for all ages. It’s free and open Tuesdays through Sundays; docent-led tours must be requested two weeks in advance.

History

As the birthplace of Frederick Douglass, the famed author and abolitionist, Easton is a town brimming with history.

Back in 2011, Easton installed a statue depicting Douglass commemorating his return to Talbot County as a free man. Talbot County also has a series of small museums where visitors can learn more about the region’s heritage and a guide to four self-guided driving tours exploring periods of Douglass’ life.

WRC / Maggie More

You can also visit the Talbot Historical Society, which includes Easton’s oldest frame house and a 1-acre garden, for free.

Easton’s festivals and special events make it a good pick for any time of year. Art walks in the summer, a film festival and Waterfowl Festival in the fall, Christmas events and a holiday market in the winter and the Fire and Ice Festival in February are just a few banner events from the town’s calendar.

Where to eat in Easton, Maryland

Eateries offering five-star dining and handmade ice cream have popped up throughout the town, giving locals and visitors a wide range of venues to enjoy.

Family-owned Storm and Daughters Ice Cream is a local favorite for sweet treats, 48 flavors of ice cream and Waffle Wednesdays.

One of Bluepoint Hospitality’s spots, Bonheur Pie & Ice Cream, does an afternoon tea service on Fridays. Or there’s P. Bordier, a French pastry shop serving traditional desserts as well as innovative takes on classics such as galettes and crêpes.

WRC / Maggie More

“I always try to focus on flavor because, at the end of the day, things could be beautiful but not tasty,” the shop’s executive chef Thomas Raquel said. However, take it from us: The desserts do look as good as they taste.

The Wardroom, another project dreamed up by Prager, is an upscale market serving seasonal sandwiches, cheeses and charcuterie boards by day, then innovative pasta dishes accompanied by wines at night.

You can even pick up elements for your own impressive charcuterie board.

The Wardroom’s in-house cheesemonger, Red Barnes, maintains a pretty display case and a cheese cave (pronounced “cahv”). The low-humidity, brick-walled room next to the wine cellar keeps the cheeses cold and fresh while ensuring that troublesome microbes stay away.

WRC / Maggie More

“You have to care for the cheese, as if it’s a dog or a child, and take care of it,” Barnes said.

Barnes says she keeps up with not just the cheeses that people might like, but also the new products mentioned in high-profile food guides, and sources them for the shop.

“Be on the move about what you know,” she said. “If you see something in the Washington Post or the New York Times, boom, get that product and get it into the shop.”

The Bas Rouge offers a mix of mid-Atlantic and British cuisine in a beautifully crafted, upscale dining room complete with chandeliers, gleaming crystal-and-silver décor and carefully arranged vases and framed paintings.

The menu includes its staple crab Wellington (the epitome of Maryland fine dining?), crispy confit duck and ratatouille pavé. Lunch is a la carte, while dinner tasting menus run $125 for three courses and $150 for four.

Helpful links

Lori Rampani and Samuel Larreal contributed to this report

Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.

Hi, friends! It’s been more than a few years since our last real vacation, so Colossal is taking a brief summer break from July 26 through August 9. Publication won’t cease entirely, but we’ll only be sharing a few things a week, and some newsletters will be sporadic or resume on our return. We hope you stay cool during this very hot summer, and we’ll be back in a few weeks at our regular pace.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Colossal Is Taking a Summer Break! appeared first on Colossal.

July is National Disability Pride Month, and Wednesday marks the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act becoming law in the United States.To celebrate, adults with disabilities are hosting a pop-up shop at the Palladio Folsom Farmer’s Market on Wednesday. This is the first time the artists will be selling their handmade work since before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.The artists are coming from UCP of Sacramento and Northern California’s adult day program.The non-profit supports over 3,000 children and adults every month with intellectual disabilities. “If you buy anything, you will get the biggest thank you and smile, even if you come to the booth and look at the art,” Megan Laurie, with UCP, told KCRA 3. “What it means to the individuals is honestly that they matter. Sometimes we forget that they matter, but they do. They as an individual are important and they shouldn’t be isolated from society.”Bob, one of the artists, said he is most excited to “just be with people” at the market on Wednesday.Andrew, Bob’s friend, said this will be his first time selling his art.”I am remarkable and I’m truly blessed to be with my friends here, and I want to keep up the good work that I want to do,” he said.You can meet the UCP artists at the Palladio Folsom Farmer’s Market between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 26.The will accept cash or Venmo for payment. All sales will go directly to the artists themselves.

MORGANTOWN — The title sounds probably way too high-falutin … assistant athletic director in charge of digital/creative media.

Mostly, though, Ross Marra, a Bridgeport native and graduate of Bridgeport High, figures the job he just took with West Virginia University is to come up with new, different and entertaining ways of bringing the world into West Virginia athletics through video, photos and social media.

His arrival signifies another step into the branding effort that is going on throughout the Big 12 under the philosophies put forth by its commissioner Brett Yormark as the league changes its image and focus to create a young, hipper following of fans.

And so it was, as his first week on the job came to an end and he reached for a towel to dry off those feet he now had gotten wet, Marra was asked to explain how he sees his role in presenting and promoting WVU athletics, especially at a difficult point in their history.

“I’m a sports person and a sports fan who learned creative media,” he said. “It helps me understand the game and anticipate plays as far as shooting it. As the landscape of college athletics evolved over time, that brought in creativeness.”

No longer was the game the only focus. Yes, ESPN and Fox and whichever of the thousand or so streaming networks would be handling the game, was in charge of getting the word out. Now WVU had control over it, too, through its website and social media accounts and the approach could be far more creative than in the past.

As long as WVU has been involved in athletics, as many tales as have been told, Marra would be looking for new ones.

“There’s always stories to be told, powerful stories to be told,” he stressed.

The art of storytelling was evolving rapidly.

“It’s definitely keeping our departments on their toes. The equipment evolves, social media evolves.

“It’s hard to always be in that creative mindset. It’s hard to be always thinking of new ways to cover the teams, but it’s so much fun to be there covering the games.”

Marra plans to try and find new approaches to old stories.

“Over the past couple of years (at Wake Forest) I was in charge of cinematic game recaps,” he said. “The way I view that is when you set out to do a cinematic game recap there’s so much game coverage from ESPN or whatever network you are playing on that you don’t go there. My sole focus and outlook on that is to showcase the angles the viewers aren’t going to see on TV; to tell the story from a completely different angle.”

That could be miking up players or coaches, new perspectives, new views. He wants to have things like a camera in the student section, views from behind the bench with a different kind of lens than the TV cameras have, locker room stories, interpersonal stories.

“You can tell them the story within the game with less focus on the final score,” he said. “There are multiple stories that take place within the game as far as different player storylines and things like what’s going on in the players’ lives.

“It’s being always out there, always ready to capture different moments. You never know what you are going to use. We try to report on as much as we can,” he added.

His background as a WVU fan tells him the passionate fan base is an asset for him.

“That’s an extreme help. For 25 years of my life I have a part of that fan base. It’s fun to create for passionate fans. As someone who has been a part of it, I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of what WVU fans want to see; what they are most passionate about. Also the historic clips that resonate with fans.”

What Marra does is not to be confused with an unbiased reporting approach. His job, he says, is more to market WVU athletics than anything else.

“Whatever it takes to showcase WVU and its athletes in its best light, that’s the business I’m in,” he said.

But what he is selling is real.

“You are selling the fan experience …. not just selling it but enhancing it for those in attendance and to share and convey that fan experience to those who weren’t in attendance; whether they be WVU fans across the globe or just general fans who want to become WVU fans.”

Marra was very much a typical Mountaineer fan as he grew up.

“For as long as I can remember, way young, I was a fan,” he said. “I came to West Virginia football and basketball games. That’s just what you did. That was a way of life. That was my childhood. Everything revolved around WVU.”

That’s posters and T-shirts and hats.

“I remember coming to the men’s basketball game when they beat UCLA in the Coliseum. I remember both of the College GameDay visits, LSU and TCU. I remember squeezing 30 people into 11 seats at the LSU game.”

But there is one game that stands out in his memory.

“I went to the Oklahoma game at the Coliseum with my dad when it was Jevon Carter against Trae Young. That was the loudest I ever heard the Coliseum,” he said.

Marra was born and raised in Bridgeport, went to Bridgeport High and was a part of their 2014, 20015 and 2016 state championship teams as a left fielder.

Always he was, like nearly everyone he knew, a rabid WVU fan.

He opted, though, to attend South Carolina.

“When I got out of high school, I knew I wanted to go south for college,” Marra explained of his leaving home to attend South Carolina. “That was always the plan and when I toured the school I fell in love with it and had a fantastic four years there.”

As Tony Caridi says, though, there’s always a West Virginia connection.

Marra got involved with creative media while he was there.

“I spent three years working with Frank Martin and Andy Assaley, who is now director of basketball operations at Clemson,” Marra said. “They were both with Huggins at Cincinnati and Kansas State, as well.”

As a student and working with the athletic department and basketball team, it was a different seat for Marra than being a WVU fan at home.

“It was a different feeling,” he admitted. “It’s a different perspective when you are part of the team and part of the university. That was the first time I got a taste of that.”

After South Carolina he moved on to work at Wake Forest.

“I went as men’s basketball producer off my work at South Carolina. I did that for one year, then was given the opportunity to take over the creative department there. The past two years I was involved in growing that department and building it into one of the premier creative departments in the country.

As big a Mountaineer fan as Marra was, he missed maybe the greatest game of his lifetime when the Mountaineers went double overtime at Cleveland State to score a 111-105 victory over the No. 5-ranked Demon Deacons.

“I walked into the office the first day and there was a 2004-05 Wake Forest basketball poster above my desk with all the guys’ signatures on it,” Marra said. “Funny thing is, at home I have a basketball with all the West Virginia players signed on it.”

It was a nice way to be welcomed to his new job, especially since the game was the last collegiate game for Chris Paul, the Wake star who went to become one of the greats ever to play in the NBA, and it gave Marra a story he could tell to anyone who listened at Wake Forest.

A division of the German government has just announced it will incentivize Berlin galleries to participate in up to two art fairs a year, in Germany and abroad, by providing a subsidy of up to €12,000 ($13,000).

“Trade fairs are an important platform for galleries to acquire new customers and maintain existing contacts,” Germany’s Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, which is behind the pilot program, said in a statement today.

Berlin is considered one of the largest and most innovative locations for contemporary art worldwide, the department said. “6,000 artists live and work in the German capital, and the approximately 350 private galleries based in the city contribute to the positive image of the city with their exhibitions of national and international artists.”

The program will enable more Berlin galleries to participate in internationally recognised art fairs, the agency said.

Not surprisingly, the response from Berlin gallerists has been enthusiastic.

“This is a great step in the right direction and a welcome sign of appreciation of Berlin’s gallery scene,” said art dealer Thomas Schulte. “In the last 25 years, we galleries have given the cultural life and the international image of Berlin a  lot of positive input and publicity worldwide and free of charge. This is the success of the continuous work of Werner Tammen and the Landesverband Berliner Galerien (LVBG) with its many new members and an encouraging sign of better and increasingly constructive communication with the Berlin Senate. We are moving forward.” Tammen is the chairman of the LVBG, a regional association of gallerists.

Going forward, interested Berlin galleries can receive free advice from the LVBG on ​​how to access funding from the new program and to receive support in the application process.

The Senate Department “is now closing a gap in the existing program for internationalization,” according to the statement. The existing internationalization program enables small and medium-sized companies to participate in trade fairs in Berlin, but had so far excluded galleries.

More Trending Stories:  

Looking for a Smart Beach Read? Here Are 15 of the Most Gripping New Art-World Books to Crack Open This Summer 

Artists Have Come Forward Claiming Non-Payment From Simon Lee Gallery Following News of Its Financial Insolvency 

Federal Funding Has Incentivized Institutions to Hold on to—and Even Destroy—Native Remains, a New Report Suggests 

Who Was Edward Brezinski? Nobody Really Knows. But a New Documentary About the ’80s Artist’s Failure to Find Fame Could Change That 

Scientists Have Developed the Whitest White Paint Ever Made—So Reflective It Can Cool Surfaces 

Broadway Legend Stephen Sondheim’s Manhattan Townhouse—Where He Wrote Tony-Winning Musicals—Is Selling to the Tune of $7 Million 

A Judge Green-lit a Virginia Museum’s Plans to Melt Down a Confederate Monument, Dismissing a Lawsuit Attempting to Save It 

Artist Stuart Semple Is Releasing a ‘Barbie-Ish,’ Ultra-Fluorescent Pink Paint to Protest Mattel’s Trademark on the Color 

An Australian Photographer Was Disqualified From a Photo Contest After Her Submission Was Mistakenly Deemed A.I.-Generated 

Follow Artnet News on Facebook:
Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.