Ceramics have been experiencing a revival in recent years. Baked clay is a particulary popular medium among younger artists. Ceramic artist Koos Buster is one of the driving forces behind this revival. His work is playful and funny, but also socially engaged. His shapes are never completely straight and the lines are always slightly wobbly. On Instagram he uses the alias Minister of Ceramic Affairs. Good reason for Galerie Vriend van Bavink to approach Buster to curate an exhibition. Buster selected 14 artists for this upbeat show. He himself prefers to talk about taking his ministerial responsibility.
Next to the Employee of the Month sign with Buster's timidly smiling face on it twelve times and a wall with his Decorative plates of almost everything I don't like (think Sergio Ramos, but also the Tiger King, Donald Trump and Lil Kleine and things like a bottle of Spa, Scientology, the Nestlé logo and cruise ships) there are decorative plates by Lucebert, an impressive fleet of ships by Tilmann Meyer-Faje, a gloomy pinball machine by Tim Breukers and a photosaurus by Tommy Smits. Very diverse, but all made of ceramics.
A ministry wouldn't be a ministry without the necessary security measures, so Buster installed ceramic fire detectors, fire extinguishers, video cameras in the gallery. A smart solution that also ties the colorful selection together. We spoke to Koos Buster (in full Koos Buster Stroucken, NL, 1991) in the run-up to the opening and asked him how one becomes Minister of Ceramic Affairs, about his series of decorative plates and curating this exhibition.
How does one become Minister of Ceramic Affairs?
On Instagram I always made up nicknames for myself, such as Clay god, Clay papa and Ceramic Influencer. One day a friend of mine said he had a good nickname for me. That was Minister of Ceramic Affairs. At first I thought it was a bit rich and saw it as a joke, but when Gijs Assmann won De Kei (ceramic prize) two years ago and named me as an ambassador in his acceptance speech, things started to get serious.
He called me that because I am young and use ceramics in an accessible way. The material makes me really happy and I try to convey that with my work. In addition, if you call yourself that, it is nice if you also draw attention to ceramics.
Is that the goal of this exhibition?
Yes, the exhibition is a reflection of what I like, but also shows what is possible with ceramics. Ceramics, of course, have a bit of an old-fashioned image of claying hobbyists, especially elderly women. By the way, that image works both ways, because as a man I was often told that I couldn’t pull it off anyway.
How did this exhibition come about?
This was all a bit last minute. There was a gap in the programming at the gallery and they asked me to present an overview of artists who work with ceramics. I knew the gallery through my work for the Kunstrijders and agreed on the condition that I only had to supply a list of names and the gallery would take care of the rest. I am a bit short on time, because I am expecting my second child at the beginning of May and I want to finish my work before.
A striking name in the exhibition is Lucebert. Was it difficult to get work from his estate for the exhibition?
No, the ties between the gallery and the heirs are warm, so that was easy to arrange.
Your series "Decorative plates of almost everything I don't like" is also on display. How does that series work, do you recreate works when they are sold or do you make new signs every time?
If I sell one, I won't make it again. It is an organic whole with a varying composition. The series actually consists of three series: things I don't like, football-related things such as the Calimero cup for Roger Schmidt (the PSV coach who felt disadvantaged by the arbitration compared to Ajax, ed.), or Gianluca Rocchi , (the referee who whistled the tumultuous Champions League match Chelsea-Ajax 2 years ago, ed.), and people I don't like. I always portray them with a childhood photo.