DAVID RAGO - leading US auctioneer shares advice that won't make him many friends in his industry.7/31/2017
 Learn how to protect yourself at auction with the owner of a leading U.S. auction house. He says: “This advice won’t make me many friends in the auction world.” At the age of sixteen, David Rago began dealing in American decorative ceramics at a flea market in his home state of New Jersey. Today, he oversees the auction house that bears his name and sells privately in the field. He is an author who lectures nationally and an expert appraiser for the hit PBS series, Antiques Roadshow, where he specializes in decorative ceramics and porcelain. David Rago entered the world of auctions in 1984. His auction series was the first to introduce the famous Puck Building into the world of antiques. He founded David Rago Auctions, Inc. incorporated in 1995 and relocated to Lambertville, New Jersey, midway between Philadelphia and New York City. With partners Suzanne Perrault and Miriam Tucker, the size and scope of the sales gradually – and then rapidly – expanded. Today, Rago Arts and Auction Center (known as “Rago”) is a leading U.S. auction house with $30 million in annual sales. It serves thousands of sellers and buyers yearly, providing global reach, personal service and competitive commissions for single pieces, collections and estates. Rago holds auctions of 20th/21st c. design, fine art, decorative arts, furnishings, jewelry, Asian, militaria, coins and currency, silver, historic ephemera, and ethnographic property. Rago also provides a range of appraisal services conducted by USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) compliant appraisers, performed to the highest standards set by the IRS, insurers and the Appraisers Association of America. Rago is located in New Jersey, midway between New York City and Philadelphia. To give you an idea of the scope and tone of this column I’ll end this first installment with something little understood by many auction buyers, especially newer ones. How do you protect yourself from any undisclosed or undiscovered condition issues, and what is your recourse should a problem arise? Damage and misattribution are certainly factors of value and may also affect your decision of whether to even bid in the first place. Is there an aggressive rip in or permanent stain on the fabric of that sofa? Is the hole in the bottom of that pot original (made for a lamp base) or did someone drill it after it left the kiln? Was that coffee table really made at George Nakashima studio in New Hope? Especially if you’re buying from only photos and/or an auction house’s description (“sight-unseen”, in trade parlance), you really need to understand what the seller is selling, and whether or not they can be held accountable for nondisclosure. Remember this first and foremost. YOU are the customer, and YOU have every right to press an auction house not only on condition, but what their guarantees encompass, on record. Some auctions are “as is, where is”, in that they make no guarantees about anything. There is nothing wrong with this, but they should tell you this up front and you should bid accordingly. Most auctions however, especially when selling more valuable objects, make claims of vintage, originality, authorship, and so on. Questions you should ask: What does the auction guarantee? Condition, maker, date? Begin by reading the terms of sale, usually in the back of an auction catalogue and posted on line. Then, ask specific questions and demand specific answers. If you are at all uncertain of a company’s guarantees, GET THEM IN WRITING! You can request an email or a fax, or anything that memorializes what they are saying about the pieces you are buying. Have the department head or if a smaller firm, an owner, sign off on it. If they refuse, don’t bid. An email trail is usually sufficient here, one that claims a guarantee of the condition report memorialized in the exchange. Does the auction offering the material know enough about what they are selling to really offer valid assurances? To be fair, not all auction houses are experts in everything, if they are experts in anything. Ask them how well they know the material, asking specific questions, and then use their answers to determine their level of expertise. You should expect more transparency and experience from a specialty house (more on this in another column). I mean it’s obvious that a firm selling vintage Eames furniture for decades should know a whole lot more than a local firm that chanced into a few pieces. You should also direct questions towards collectors and dealers you know who’ve dealt with a particular house that is new to you. What is the word on the street about the level of knowledge of a company’s department head(s), and do they live up to their word? When your purchases arrive, inspect them all IMMEDIATELY. If you have an issue with something, call the auction’s employee or owner with whom you dealt before the auction. Do this as soon as possible. You’ll have an easier time getting a refund if you request a return before the auction house has paid the consignor who owned the piece. If an object has a minor flaw that you honestly feel lessens value BUT you would like to keep it anyway, you can often negotiate a lower price. But please, don’t be the sort of buyer who manufactures a problem, using it as a wedge to save some money by beating up the auction house. That may work once but we auctioneers have seen every trick you can possibly imagine. Is it really worth blowing off a viable source to save a few bucks? A good negotiation is a two-way street, with both parties bringing value to the equation. Act in good faith and extend the benefit of the doubt. That said, if you are cheated or otherwise fare poorly with no offer of suitable restitution, tell everyone you know. This advice won’t make me many friends in the auction world. Expect more of the same in future columns. www.ragoarts.com    “In my artistic investigation over the past five years I have sought to research the complex relationships between harmony and disharmony within each individual work.” Born in Belgrade in 1970, Komadina has a diploma in fine art from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. Since 1992 he has developed his back painted glass technique with oil paints, metallic leaf and precious metals. He founded the Akademeia Art Studio of Lignano Sabbiadoro and Latisana, Udine province (UD) and was its director from 1996 to 2009. From 2007 to 2010 he was head of restoration for all the works of art aboard the historic transatlantic SS Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He founded the cultural Association “Plus Oltre” in 2002 and acted as its president until 2008. He is secretary of AC “Plus, Oltre” since 2008. He currently lives and works in Belgrade, Serbia and Udine, Italy. “Studying the complex relationships between harmony and disharmony. The pairing of elements to communicate the idea of depth, material, static condition and a metastable existence of things. The irony present in my paintings recalls the relativity of words, meaning, the knowledge and perception of reality.” “In my artistic investigation over the past five years I have sought to research the complex relationships between harmony and disharmony within each individual work. This has presented me with an endless source in the exploration of a new aesthetic horizon. The marriage of these discordant elements and their union in a harmonious work is an exploration of the extremes of my pictorial language. The study of physics, metaphysics and relativity has always been present in my work. It is communicated through geometric elements (the Cartesian system), beams of light (subtle golden lines), the use of bichromatic colours, the pairing of elements to communicate the idea of depth, material, static condition and a metastable existence of things.” “Analogously, the irony present in my paintings recalls the relativity of words, meaning, the knowledge and perception of reality.“ www.instagram.com/miloskomadina Credits - Milos Komadina      Meet the man colouring history – his subjects include Immigrants arriving on Ellis Island, the golden years of NASA and the world’s first supermodel. How would you describe My Colourful Past? My Colourful Past is a bridge between history and art, made possible through technology that serves to make observers look twice and think further. This is certainly not the typical artistic pathway – what inspired you to take up this form of expression? Always I have wondered about the past and the romance of living some time ago. Perhaps in late 2013, I took to reimagining some family photographs using software. Have you always been an admirer of the early years of photography? Early portraiture was every bit a finite art as it is today; only the photographers of old were somewhat pioneering the technology. I’ve seen countless glass negatives and have been lucky enough to hold them in hand; they are simply stunning to look over. Stoic faces, evidence of attitudes and trends of an era, they make for storyful imagery. What are your biggest influences? I spend a lot of time, outside of art, looking at how the world works or at least trying my best to fathom the social construct. I see trends and attitudes that are, on occasion, the polar opposite to those of old and it makes me question how far we’ve come in a sense of society. These instances train my thoughts back in time and that’s where the colorization lives. You recently worked on a project on the golden years of NASA that became part of the visual documentary ASTRO narrated by Micah Cottingham - How did that come about? Like millions and millions of other people, I too hold fascination with the space race era. In the last few years, the NASA Media Library released a trove of high-resolution imagery, focusing on projects Gemini, Mercury, Apollo and STS. I told myself that I would study them at length, research and colorize a dozen. It was an enormous undertaking and the final imagery warranted something extra. After some consideration it seemed that producing a short, narrated documentary, focusing on these dozen colorized photographs was the way to go. I wrote a script over the course of a month and made contact with voice artist Micah Cottingham who brought her own magic to the project. After a further month and a half of editing, ‘Astro’ was born. What is the reaction of people that see your work for the first time? Upon first sight, people are stuck for words but they continue to look. Soon they begin to understand what they are seeing. I find that particular subjects invoke particular responses and that too is a facet of My Colorful Past that I am continually exploring. The work can fuel a range of emotional responses, from anger to joy. There is essentially no moral compass to the path the project takes, that’s why it has looked into conflict and poverty as well as celebration and peace. What does take center stage is the ethos of the project, which is to reimagine for the benefit of education, in that people look a little longer and ask questions about times gone. People realize fast that their perception of time is magnified when they see familiarity in another era. It’s almost self-reflective. How can our readers purchase your work – are there exclusive pieces? These are exclusive pieces and are printed to order in large format only. I encourage any interested party to get in touch where all activity takes place on Instagram, where you can reach me very easily by email or telephone. I enjoy talking to people about what they are seeing, about the overall process and above all making new contacts. It really is incredible who gets in touch from week to week, quite often it’s a relative of a subject I have colorized and we strike up a friendship of sorts. Most recently a relative of William Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill and the grandson of actress Mary Anderson. They were humbled to see their family in color and reached out. It completes a circle of sorts and that’s a very satisfying part of the project. Do you do bespoke projects – how large is the biggest piece you can deliver? Bespoke projects surface from time to time and are welcome. Finished pieces are made available in large format up to sizes of 90” mounted and framed. Is this a novelty with a product lifetime – do you believe that long-term interest and growth is sustainable? Colorization at this level is by no means a novelty, ordinarily a person might offer opinion on preference, for example, a portrait in monochrome but colorized can entertain preference either way, however, when the process applied is 90% accurate we are moving into a new territory, one that borders education. This is why growth is sustainable and increasing. You have had good coverage recently – especially about your project on the world’s first supermodel Evelyn Nesbitt. How will you maintain this momentum? Working closely with a U.K based press agency is ensuring that this art meets a wider audience both at home and abroad. The key to enthusiastic response and workflow is originality and that is what interested persons can expect. In 2017 there are some very insightful pieces on the way that have untold stories behind them. One of these is ‘Escape’ and the story of Kenneth Widner - nephew of Clarence and John Anglin who famously escaped Alcatraz prison island. Kenneth and I have been working closely together for the last five months to tell a story untold, along with photographs unseen and colorized. You’re based in Murrisk Westport in County Mayo of Ireland – what’s the art scene like in your part of the world? Westport hosts an arts festival each year that attracts visitors the world over; we have poets, painters, traditional musicians, and songwriters. Westport is also home to Ireland’s photographer of the year, Michael McLaughlin. There’s absolutely a creative and accepting spirit in this region, together with the scenery and one of Europe’s most beautiful bays, it’s not difficult to find inspiration and mindfulness for any art form. What are the 5 best things to do and see in County Mayo?
www.instagram.com/my_colorful_past Credits – Matt Loughrey     MOROSO + DIESEL Moroso, with Diesel, has created a collection of products with a relaxed and comfortable mood, taking its inspiration from an informal lifestyle concept and targeting consumers who like simple shapes yet at the same time seek a “modern” style made up of high quality combined with a distinctive design of pure lines. “We worked with the Diesel creative team to develop an interesting and alternative collection idea which was to represent two different yet existing aspects of certain contemporary trends: one which is darker in tone, inspired by the underground world and with a more aggressive and enigmatic aesthetic, and the other lighter, inspired by nature and a visual radiance, with soft and welcoming shapes”, explained Patrizia Moroso - Art Director. www.moroso.it JOSEPH WALSH Joseph Walsh (born in 1979) founded his Studio and workshop in 1999 in County Cork, Ireland. He is a designer maker, realizing One-of-a-Kind and limited edition pieces. Walsh’s creative approach reflects his appreciation of nature and also his desire to engage the user with visual and tactile forms. The great understanding and sympathetic use of the material, the intimate relationship between the process of finding forms and creating structures, and the continuity and resolve from the concept stage to the making process define his Studio and work today. Walsh’s workshop, employing an international team, engages in resolving technical challenges as his work becomes more complex. They explore new materials while continuing to further the possibilities of engaging with wood. The work of the Studio continues to advance skills, inspire an innovative response and challenge existing practices in achieving the ambitious pieces realised. Joseph Walsh was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by University College Cork in 2015 in recognition of his contribution to design. Joseph Walsh’s work can be found in many significant international Museums and Private Collections and is regularly exhibited at major art and design fairs. www.josephwalshstudio.com     Leading artist in the Middle East, listed as one of the top 50 women in the GCC, single mother, voice against injustice and hypocrisy. You have blazed a trail for Women from your region and Artists too – what makes you different? I honestly just believed in myself since I was a child. My late father reinforced this unfaltering self-belief in me. I owe it all to him. He made me feel invincible. I never gave up, and every time I fell, I got up and worked harder than before, and got more determined than ever. In this part of the world particularly, people – women even more so - worry about how they will be perceived and “what will people say”, etc. I never cared for hypocrisies. I always knew what my core was. A key theme in your work is Courage – it is often an easy word to say but harder to summon? I don’t ever recall being afraid of people. Afraid of lizards (at one point in my life), afraid of something bad happening to the ones I loved and especially my children, things like that. But I have never been afraid to try new experiences, whether they are scuba diving, jumping from an airplane, or just eating scorpions or traveling alone to remote areas of the world. In fact, these efforts excite me and make me feel alive. I am always willing to try anything once for my own sake, and then I will make up my mind as to whether I like it or not. And I detest hypocrisy, so I have to fight it with my work, and the work has to be brave to do that justly. Something that comes through is how open you are about your life? I am far too open for my society, yes. I live my life transparently, and I always have, and that has garnered the respect and admiration of some, and the judgment of others. My transparency creates a level of honesty that is not usually found in the work of an artist from my region, and because the work is authentic, people feel it and respond to it. It affects the audience greatly, but sometimes at my own expense because I am judged for it, hated for it sometimes, and publicly “lynched” for it, you could say (as a metaphor). On the other hand, it is what clearly differentiates me from others, because I am not afraid to address the truth. Truth: now that is an interesting word. It generates terror in people. And my work is all truth. Did it take a while to discover your purpose and how hard was it to let it out? It did actually take me a while to find my purpose. Though I was born with a gift (I had my first group show at the age of 9), I never actually knew that my role as an artist had a purpose until I was going through my divorce. It was then that – with the opposition of society and my family and the ensuing struggle – the woman, the mother, and the artist in me all joined forces and meshed and they became one entity. I was no longer a woman and an artist, but just one autonomous being that needed to scream and voice an opinion. I needed to express my anger at the injustice around me, at the inequality, at the struggles that I was going through as a woman seeking divorce in my 40’s with 4 children in tow. Society, including my own family, thought I was insane and stupid. But I insisted on pursuing happiness. And in doing so, discovered more and more hypocrisies and injustices that needed to be addressed. For me, my social responsibility rates high on my list of priorities in life; it is meshed with my role as an artist and is crucial to my work. One of your most famous works is titled The Prophetess (from the It’s a Man’s World series) – obviously that could be inflammatory – your show was shut down and of course that’s unacceptable but you have not been jailed or worse – In your poem ANOTHER KIND OF LOVE – I quote: “the shallow depressions in your mattress made by not one, but two daughters of Muslims.” Is Kuwait when compared to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bangladesh or even Turkey actually as close to a haven for freedom of speech in the Muslim countries as one can currently hope for? The Prophetess is about societal hypocrisy and how society shoves its religious, political and sexual dirt under the carpet. I have come into existence to expose all that, for the purpose of addressing issues left dormant and stagnant, and subsequently finding solutions for them. Another Kind of Love is about lesbian love. We have a massive gay community in Kuwait, believe it or not, more than the world can ever realize. I was the first artist to address that, and project their human rights, which is one of the reasons (amongst other reasons they claimed) why they shut down my show, banned my work, and investigated me like a criminal. Yes, Kuwait has a reasonable freedom of speech when compared to other places in the region, but it is a subtle suffocation. In other words, if you talk about issues like gender equality or social status, or the Bedoon (the stateless), they will more or less leave you alone; but if you talk about religion or the government, there will be repercussions such as jail. If I did not have worldwide support, I may very well be in jail or worse. But Kuwait does care very much about its international stature. So I don’t think it would jeopardize that. You are half Syrian - how has the conflict in the country affected you and your work? The conflict in Syria has been a huge influence on my work recently, as is evident from the series ‘It’s a Mad World’ (2015/2016), which was exhibited for six weeks in Beirut and six weeks in Kuwait (it was my “comeback” show after four years of censorship). I still have family who live in Damascus and refuse to leave, despite the atrocities committed all around them. My uncle and aunt want to die in their home, regardless of how this death comes about. This is very traumatic for us as a family, especially as my uncle tells me stories of incidents that take place before his own eyes. I don’t listen to the news propaganda. I just listen to him, my uncle, and what he portrays can be far worse than what you see in the news. The sad reality is that people living there have become jaded. He tells me about the most awful occurrences very casually, like it is normal life. Well, it is normal life for them. So yes, it enters into my messages through the work, absolutely. Can Art really change the Middle East? What do we have to lose? We are a region rife with wars; economic, political and religious struggles; social hypocrisies; all sorts of injustices; and more. Art is the simplest – and simultaneously the most complicated – way for people to express themselves. Many artists are voicing their opinions now through their art, music, writing, and dancing. I for one absolutely believe that art can influence politics through societal interference. For example, when my show was shut down in 2012, after months of opposition and struggles, in 2013 – only one year later – I was awarded Artist of the Year, and other artists began to follow suit in being more courageous (because I opened that door for them). The art movement changed gradually from 2012 until now. People took notice, and that had a ripple effect, and instigated social changes that reflected in the art movement. What’s your support like, back home in Kuwait? The support for me in Kuwait is very black and white: people are either with me or against me; they either love me or hate me. Or some of them feel that way about my work and not about me personally. Most of the younger generation are keen supporters of my work, and most of the beautiful supportive emails I receive are from younger people. I think I appeal to them because I address taboo topics and rebel against injustice, and by speaking out without fear; I become the voice of many who cannot speak out. There are many reasons why people – young or old – cannot speak out: their families would punish them, societal pressure, peer pressure, fear of ruining their reputation or their marriage prospects or get fired from their job, etc. So I put myself out there because none of these things bother me. I believe so strongly in my message that it over-rides any rational or irrational fear. What role do mothers in your region (and beyond) have in the push for gender equality? Mothers play a huge role, and I have addressed that in my work as well. If you look at ‘Painting the Roses Red: This Way Up’, that artwork shows a mother with a hijab holding the eyes of her son open wide, while he casually drinks his juice. On a microcosmic scale, the mother is responsible for raising decent, broad-minded men, no matter how religious, conservative or traditional she may be. Being open-minded and being conservative are NOT mutually exclusive. Then on a macrocosmic scale, the mother represents the nation, and the government or society can still hold onto its culture and tradition while encouraging open-mindedness. I think the problem comes from misunderstanding the term open minded, which to me simply means accepting diversity and respecting others, regardless of your nationality, religious affiliation or gender. I think what goes wrong is still related to gender stereotypes: that men must be violent and emotionless, and that they must be ruthless to be powerful, etc. We need leaders who break that stereotype. Some do exist, but not enough (yet) to change the world dynamic. How do you balance knowing exactly what you are going to say with allowing your work to evolve organically? My process is: the ideas come to me all the time, from the world around me, mostly during my dreams actually. Then I write them down and do a few sketches and leave them. I don’t actually start putting them onto canvas until I have all of them in my head ready, and I usually instinctively know that the series is complete and that I can now start. Once I get inside the studio, it is a matter of implementation, so it is daily work (sometimes up to 12 hours a day closer to the show) until the series is completed. It is a smooth process for me technically but one that is emotionally, mentally and physically harrowingly rife with mood fluctuations. No one close to me understands it except my children, because they have seen it all their lives. You have a PhD in Ekphrasis (the relationship between art and poetry) – how do they exist in your work? I studied Ekphrasis because it seemed like the ideal solution to someone like me, someone who both painted and wrote. People would always ask me where I “saw” myself: as an artist or as a poet, but that really shows how little they know about the creative process. The two are not mutually exclusive, but people like to pigeonhole you and put you in a classified box. Blake did both, Gibran did both, Miro did both. I have always been drawing and writing since I was a child: it was never a decision for me. It evolved organically. As an artist, Ekphrasis affects my work deeply via the titles. They are crucial to my message, they are complex and well researched; I work really hard on my titles because they complete the story. And they are usually quite cheeky, witty and sarcastic. You were recently listed as one of the top 50 GCC Women Leaders – what are your future plans? I have a large project that I am working on that is incredibly exciting but cannot divulge its details just yet. Also, I am planning my largest solo show yet in Dubai with Ayyam Gallery for 2018, then a show in New York, plus other smaller projects here and there. But what I really dream to do is to open a school for customized learning, where students are not tested on the generic subjects, but rather they are given subjects that nurture their natural gifts: a school that would potentially graduate geniuses, and eliminate judgment and “one- size-fits-all” mentality. Ultimately, as an artist and a human being, my goal is to actually affect the minds of others and to help reform society. www.shurooqamin.com Credits – Shurooq Amin & Abdullah Al-Saab     A journalist once said about this acclaimed Cleveland based artist: "deconstruction and creation happen at the same time in his mind”. Your works have a distinct refinement and subtlety– how do you ensure proportion and beauty? I look for ways I can incorporate my design and fabricating skills into items first. I tend to use reclaimed items as materials for color or character and stay away from using them as a whole. I personally consider my furniture and lighting as art. To most people there is a line drawn with considering functional design as art. Why in your opinion has the repurposed industrial style of furniture and design become so popular? I like to think of it as a new genre or age of interior decor. I feel that others gravitate to the industrial aesthetic because of the new uses of the old machinery components that have hard edge lines that most people can agree with without being too decorative. Most of my works are everyday items that can be lived with. Some are meant to be statement pieces and looked at. “I try not to question much till I come to a cross road in a design, then I reconfigure and refine.” Your famous Pitchfork chair was made from two pitchforks (found in a Dumpster). Do you like bringing new life to the condemned? I do. Sometimes when I am looking for inspiration I go to industrial surplus warehouses and get ideas for general shapes, lines, and movement for my lighting and furniture. I am finding myself lately to be refining my old designs that were complimented by industrial remnants into designs made from scratch. A journalist said about you – “Deconstruction and creation happen at the same moment in his mind”?? I have a method of configuring an idea by random thought. I try not to question much till I come to a cross road in a design, then I reconfigure and refine. Over time that method has proven to pay itself off. You started off working for your family business – what inspired you to make the jump into creating your own art? I started out working at my family’s sheet metal shop making ductwork. That led to me being a Boilermaker working in power plants as a welder. I did that only to learn how to fabricate steel and to make enough money to buy machinery and equipment to start doing what I do now on a larger scale. Ever since I was a kid I have done sculpture and design work to my aesthetic that I have developed. I was fortunate enough to have a clientele of people who bought my work to be able to transition into that after I was able to build my machine shop. You once met Ralph Lauren and did not recognize him? Tell us about that This was at the Architectural Digest home design show in NYC. Ralph and his designer were shopping there and were interested in some of my floor lamps. His designer told me that Ralph wanted to purchase a couple of floor lamps and proceeded to tell me that his client Ralph Lauren wanted them for his home. I was pleased to see that Ralph was there and got to meet him and now he’s a customer. Your fans swarmed DESTIG DesignBuzz blog when you were featured – you have a devoted following? Over the years people in Cleveland and the northwest have seen me develop my work and aesthetic into what some consider a “rustbelt chic” look. I have a good following of people who collect my work. Over the years it has been very humbling to attain international attention and articles written about the work I truly love to create and to be able to make a living at it. Finding a niche for my work and having a steady work ow over time has led to a lot of breakthroughs and humbling experiences. Also meeting other designer / makers and becoming friends with them have broadened my capabilities and knowledge. I feel that the best experiences have yet to come. You have a background in metalwork – how important is it for Artists to have real hands-on experience? I think it makes all the difference if you want to truly render your thoughts into a solid piece that’s well made. Over the years I find myself taking more time on pieces because I have a better understanding on fabricating different materials. You supply to many leading Interior Designers – can you tell us of some of the places your works have ended up in? Most of my work goes to customers’ homes in coastal cities like NYC and LA. I have a lot of my work in Metropolitan hotels and some work in public art. I have gotten a lot of inquiries from New Zealand, India, Japan, Hong Kong, and Germany. At the moment there are some good things brewing up in Hong Kong. You created a limited-edition series of photos printed on old industrial blueprints. “Birds on A Wire’? The meaning of that series was how I wanted to feel, “calm, serene and well spaced.” I felt that the Birds on wire subject would make a great background or motif for my furniture as well. I do a lot of screen-printing now, such as my “birds on wire” series and other work. I consider that a transition from when I was painting when I was younger. The 2d imagery I am doing now is a more convenient way for me to portray my design expression. The abundance of materials for your work is due to many closed factories and broken machinery – how is the Cleveland economy doing now? The Cleveland economy is doing better now than ever in my opinion. A lot of the work I am doing now is custom furniture based off of work I did when I was using a lot of factory surplus from the buildings being torn down 8-10 years ago. I am doing more work that is going in Cleveland, which is nice to see. The art scene in Cleveland in my opinion is also very inspiring. There are great art districts in the city such as Gordon arts district and the 78th street studios. We also have one of the best art museums in the world. www.kevinbusta.com Image Credits – Kevin Busta Like this interview? Then why not check out the rest of our global creatives without borders in issue one of DESTIG Magazine by clicking here  |
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