Elan

and Beaufort at Shinntype.com and Arrow at Treacyfaces.com. (The latter seems to be down.)

I would've recommended Berthold's Poppl Laudatio, but it's not a good
match to Variable - so I might recommend Adobe's Penumbra instead.
It's geometric and has a range of styles from sans to serif, including flare.

BTW, one good thing about Arrow is that it has two italics:
one sloped-Roman and one more cursive. But it's too 70s.

hhp

I doubt that any flare serif would work well with an ultramod font like Variable. Flare is just too old school.

just looked at Variable, and Stephen is right--all these seem to belong to different worlds than it does.

Thanks for your replies.

What would you all suggest for a serif (non-flare) font that does work well with Variable?

I was thinking of Mediaeval:
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/storm/mediaeval/

Ideally, I want the fonts to be able to work together, but I do want some clear differences and distinctions.

-Will

http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/egyptienne-f/

http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/typotheque/fedra-serif-a/

Given the geometric qualities of Variable you could look at a slab serif with a high(ish) x-height. How closely do you want the fonts to work, because Variable is fairly fine and most serifs will be too heavy to combine in body copy with Variable Regular or Bold.
Tim

These fonts are more for an art magazine, where we have copy and then headings for the art pieces, so they will not be used as close together as they would in a regular magazine, but should still fit together.

-Will

"But it’s too 70s." Exactly.
If you really want flares with that, you might consider a couple of the old ITC faces - ITC Novarese or ITC Newtext are both flared this way, but neither is unique, and the geometry of Variable makes this pairing a bit problematic to harmonise. Alternatively, if the types are not being used in close proximity on the page, you could go for a complete structural contrast in the headlines, captions etc. and try the grandaddy of flare serif types - Berthold Wolpe's Albertus, which is also available in an italic and a light weight these days.
Having said all that, I much prefer Tim's idea of contrasting Variable with an Egyptian or Slabserif.

You need a serif typeface that isn't mousy and won't bow to the pressure of being paired with such a overtly modern typeface. Something quirky on its own, I think. What about something from Fountain such as Stefan Hattenbach's Delicato?

So the faces won't be used on the same page? OR The serif will be text and the sans will be head and sub-head?

I think you will be updating regularly if you choose to use such a modern typeface as trends change so quickly. I suppose this can be seen as a positive as the art world changes its mind as to what is vogue from week to week as well.