A smile for the everyday
A solo exhibition with Koos Buster at Ceramic Centre Tiendschuur Tegelen
from 12 May to 10 September 2023
Koos Buster-Stroucken is nicknamed the minister of ceramics. He is an ambassador for clay and having fun with it. Immediately after graduating from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, his work became a resounding success in the contemporary art world. Lovingly and skilfully, he models things no one takes a second look at, such as a cleaning trolley, an ATM machine, an electrical socket or a full ashtray. With his cheerful and colourful artworks, Buster aims to make life and the world more fun and elicit a broad smile from his audience.
Gerrit Rietveld Academie
Koos Buster (Amsterdam, 1991) graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2018 and has since become a shining star in the firmament of contemporary ceramic art. His work has been shown at Galerie Fons Welters, Museum Beelden aan Zee and the National Glass Museum. Buster - as an artist, he omits his surname - was accepted at the Rietveld with a folder full of drawings and paintings, but decided to major in ceramics in the first year. He saw ceramics as a way to render his drawings in 3D and was keen to learn a real trade.
Buster graduated with the Great Koos Buster Museum; a fully furnished room with plates, a cleaning trolley and other works. The series Decorative plates consisted of modelled plates with almost anything he does not like, such as children's pictures of Donald Trump or a cruise ship. The Mop Wagon - Ode to the Cleaner is a complete cleaning trolley. In the past, Buster had modelled a mop bucket and he then decided to clay a cleaning trolley as a masterpiece and finale to his training. The cleaning trolley is now part of AkzoNobel's art collection.
Everyday objects
The objects Buster imitates in clay are objects that attract hardly any attention. They are objects you would normally walk past, such as a fire extinguisher, an electrical socket or a security camera. In this way, he gives the objects a platform and adds meaning, making people look at them in a different way. His work is realistic, figurative and modelled in a unique signature style. Buster wants to make the world more fun with his work. His work does not have clean lines, but wobbly sketch lines which gives the work more character and brings it to life. Not everything is sketchy, some details have to be straight, otherwise, according to him, it no longer works and his work loses power. Buster makes stand-alone sculptures as well as installations.
Glass grant
In 2019, Buster received the glass grant from the Stokroos Foundation, a foundation that supports young artists. Instead of making the objects out of ceramics, Buster started experimenting with glass. This allowed him to create transparent shapes that he used for the cleaning bottles, candy jars and the 'Water Cooler Joyce', among others. The latter is part of Roos Bustek's Waiting Room. Roos Bustek is Buster's alter-ego. The random waiting room is an installation with all kinds of objects Buster made himself.
Full-size Canta
Buster grew up in Amsterdam Noord, where many Cantas drive around. He dreamed of making such a disabled wagon out of clay. That opportunity became a reality during the Amsterdam Ferry Festival in 2022 when he was allowed to create a work of art to be displayed on the Amsterdam ferry. A place where Cantas can often be seen travelling from Noord to the rest of Amsterdam. Buster made a Ferrari-red ceramic Canta with stickers on the outside and also the interior he made of ceramics, including a scented tree, an Ajax shirt on the rear-view mirror and even a beer crate made of clay.
The European Work Centre for Ceramics
In November 2022, Buster began his three-month residency for The European Ceramic Work Centre (EKWC) in Oisterwijk. Beforehand, he went to Japan for inspiration. The EKWC has a large kiln and this gave Buster the opportunity to create large ceramic works such as two life-size ceramic cash machines.
A smile for the everyday
In the exhibition A smile for the everyday, visitors will see Buster's craftsmanship, sense of humour and distinctive style. Colourful artworks which, as Buster himself puts it, "make life and the world more fun".
Preview
Friday 12 May, 4pm. It will be introduced by curator Sacha Odenhoven and Koos Buster.
Koos Buster will give several demonstrations and tours in the museum. Please See the website for more information, dates and times and booking.
Further information can be required at: www.tiendschuur.net, or ask for Sacha Odenhoven, curator/manager (info@tiendschuur.net or +31 77 3260213).
