n the Front Space, Koos Buster shows part of his recent graduation work with which he graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. Buster’s work portrays the search for a certain “doltish perfection”. In short, with his work he celebrates the trivial things in life. His wall with ceramic places, Sierborden van bijna alles wat ik niet leuk vind (2018, trans: “Ornamental Plates of Almost Everything I Do Not Like”) showcases this attitude towards triviality. The ornamental plates, reminiscent of a ceramic glaze called “Delft Blue”, display almost everything he does not like, thus transforming Buster’s frustration and anger into something positive.
When Buster has an idea, he starts to sketch. Those sketches are a first step into the process, but he also likes to see them as potential finished works, fully established within the sketch phase. Buster argues that the innocence and messiness of a quick sketch has elements he likes to see returned in a final piece of work.
Cruise Ship (2018) also showcases the personal attention that Buster gives to the things surrounding him. Buster’s grandmother used to take him to the Rijksmuseum when he was young. His favourite part of the museum were the miniature ships of the Golden Age. These ships always fascinated Buster, as these massive ships from another time where presented in miniature scale. In Cruise Ship, he plays the same trick, shrinking our contemporary massive ships and as such establishing the connection between contemporary society and the Dutch 17th Century.
Koos Buster (1991, NL) lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He has recently graduated from the Ceramics Department of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam (NL). Upcoming exhibitions include Museum Beelden aan Zee, the Hague (NL, 30 August–30 September) and SBK Sprouts Young Talents, Stichting Beeldende Kunst Amsterdam, Amsterdam (NL, 15–25 November).