A smile for the everyday

A smile for the everyday
A solo exhibition with Koos Buster at Ceramic Centre Tiendschuur Tegelen
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.
The exhibition can be seen from 12 May to 10 September.
Gerrit Rietveld Academy
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."
The exhibition will be on display from 12 May to 10 September 2023.
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 exact times and booking.