© Guda Koster
Guda's sculptures and photos of people hidden in tight textile shapes make you curious. Sometimes there is no more to be seen than a leg or an arm. And that is precisely the intention. Clothing not only has a function, but also conveys a message. Guda: 'In our daily life, we communicate our identity and social position mainly through our clothes. Clothing can be seen as a form of visual art that expresses the way we see ourselves and our relationship with the world around us'.
© Guda Koster
In her figures, Guda treats the body as a sculptural base material, which is always impersonal and in which the face remains hidden and invisible. The face is so important that it distracts you from other things, such as the shape of the clothing, the patterns or the composition. If you cannot see the face, the human figure is dehumanised into a sculpture and the viewer's attention can remain focused on patterns, fabrics and general atmospheres. In her designs, she seeks a balance between sculpture and fashion: how can shape, surface, rhythm, design and colour determine 'clothing' and give it meaning, beyond the function of the wearable? Wearable becomes an elastic concept here... It is not the design itself that is important, but rather the search for the possibilities that clothing (covering) offers as sculpture. In short, she makes photos in which she herself appears as the bearer of textile forms that have little or nothing to do with 'clothing'.
© Guda Koster
They are abstract constructions in bright colours and/or graphic designs that merge into the background or, on the contrary, contrast sharply with it. The work is measured yet cheerful, extremely accessible and always immediately recognizable as a 'Koster'.
© Guda Koster
The works of Guda Koster are full of everyday parallels, mild social criticism, irony and humour. She likes to play with illusion and contrast between the visible and the invisible. Invisible faces, hidden behind small houses, geometric shapes or certain social or religious signs, erase the boundaries between people and context, create mystery and feed the desire to know more, making her art a universal language.
Guda Koster (Alkmaar, 1957) studied at the Witte Lelie in Amsterdam. Her work is included in the collections of KPMG, CBK Groningen and Zorgcollectief Drenthe, among others. She regularly exhibits and gives performances at home and abroad: Germany, Russia and even Asia. She also gives lectures and workshops worldwide. At the moment, she teaches at the Nieuwe Akademie Utrecht. She lives and works in Amsterdam and Berlin.
© Guda Koster
Extraordinary
Extraordinary figures of Guda Koster
Duble exhibition in Stedelijk Museum Almelo and the Kunst-Torentje
5 February to 24 April 2022
Stedelijk Museum Almelo
Prinsenstraat 13
NL-7607 JC Almelo
Nederland
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