kendall buster website review

Kendall Buster is a modern sculptor whose ability to construct feather-light structures out of heavy-duty materials is unparalleled.

Employing asymmetrical geometric shapes in all of her designs, she expresses an affinity for the ambiguously beautiful while maintaining a certain poise and composure in her work that is truly fascinating.

I love her eloquent use of material language. I am enchanted by her unpretentious style and eclectic application of practical components (everything from tarp to greenhouse paper or insect netting to steel aircraft cables).

Words that come to mind that describe her work... feathery, lighweight; controlled, contained; imaginary; effervescent; obscure yet structured and appropriate; satisfying; curious; thought-provoking; visionary (in the sense that her models seem to be forward thinking and futuristic).

Her pieces look like enormous curios or trinkets.

My primary response was, whoa, she's productive! The number of large structures she's made is truly impressive in and of itself -- eighteen since 2006 is roughly three/four installations per year, and with their size and complexity, that's most remarkable to me.

My secondary response was a visual one. I was fascinated by the angles in the perspectives she chose to take her pictures. I was almost more impressed with the angles of the images that granted the viewer fascinating outlooks and intriguing vistas than I was by the work represented. I find this curious because of COURSE I'm here on her website to look at what she has to show us, but I'm more attracted to the presentation of the piece than I am to the piece presented!

Having been raised in a very traditional setting (for example, "modern" art was considered taboo and devoid of thought or aesthetic), my exposure to installation art, modern sculpture, cubism -- basically anything rendered past the time of Van Gogh -- has been minimal to none, up until this past year. This past fall in my first art history class, I was taken aback by the audacity of some of the modern artists; but as my instructor began to elaborate on the meaning behind the works, "things" began to click for me. Now that I've become somewhat accustomed to "modernity", I have seen a change in the way I perceive things in general.

I've always been attracted to the abstract and the geometric, so long as there is a certain methodical approach, a certain fluidity of composition -- something that would still be defined (by me) as beautiful -- I can appreciate it as fine art or design. I'm still, however, rather conservative in nature. Kendall Buster's work borders that "line of demarkation" for me. I hesitate somewhat when I arrive on a work that doesn't model real life; for although I like geometric eye candy, my mind has been trained to look for obvious semblances of reality. Her work varies from tents to clouds to split structures that mirror fruit; as they walk the tightrope between the real and the imagined, I find myself slipping into the appeal of her compositions: I see clean, truthful, and elaborate structures. They aren't fussy and I'm attracted to their featheriness, transparency, and overall presence in their respective environs.

In fact, I think that is what impressed me most with Buster's work: her sense of the necessity for organic interaction between installation and environment. She not only works hard on her pieces (one senses a certain perfectionistic drive) but she deals a fair hand to her working environment as well. Her pieces not only work with their surroundings, they make the atmosphere the better for their presence. They truly enhance.

In summary, I spent a fascinating hour or so browsing through her online portfolio, and feel I came away soothed... the overall sense of serenity, professionalism, aesthetic design and goodly quality was most bolstering. I learned about another contemporary designer; I learned about another use for everyday materials. I see again (as I do on a daily basis if I keep my eyes and ears open), that no matter where I am, I have an example of hard work in front of me. Where there's a will there's a way, and Kendall Buster reminded me of that today.