Archives at Risk: Guus KustersArchives at Risk: Guus Kusters

The process of developing and making ceramic work involves many elements. For example the choices in types of clay, finding the proper kiln temperature and composition of pigments for the desired glaze. Much of this knowledge about each aspect will go lost if it's not being archived. An archive is an important resource for developing new work or techniques. If these practices remain undocumented, there is the chance that each time a designer has to 'reinvent the wheel'. One maker who plays with the tension between decay and creation is Guus Kusters. The NADD is showing his archive in collaboration with EKWC.

Guus Kusters (b. 1979) started Foyer Brisé, a studio for autonomous design, in 2021. From 2009, he worked with Maarten Kolk (b. 1980) on autonomous projects and both acted as curator and exhibition designer. At the core of Kusters' new studio lies his fascination with decay: everything he creates will eventually break down. In the remnants of his research, he always sees the beginning of a new project.

Instead of a traditional archive, he maintains a so-called 'active archive', in which each preserved element can feed a new project. For Kusters, the archive is not a static record of his working process, but a dynamic residue from which new ideas can constantly emerge. The archive contains references to techniques he uses in his practice; among other things, it holds glaze recipes and results of his many glazing experiments. Maintaining a physical reference is essential, as this is the only way to trace how the colors and the glaze turn out. Learn more about his vision, artistic practice and archive by watching the video below.

Archives at Risk: Seeking Shelter is curated by Annemartine van Kesteren (Curator Design at Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum) and designed by spatial designer Ben Shamier.

The installation is on view at EKWC in Oisterwijk until 10 January 2025 and is free to visit during the workcentre’s opening hours.

The EKWC is an international artist-in-residence and centre-of-excellence for ceramics. For over 50 years, artists, designers and architects from all over the world have worked here to experiment with clay. The experiments result in both special works of art and technical innovations. The works developed here are shown in museums from New York to Tokyo. EKWC’s mission is to further develop the material ceramics and to promote its application in art, design and architecture.

In 2021, the organisations that look after design heritage in the Netherlands joined forces to become the Network for Archives of Design and Digital Culture (NADD). The network makes designers’ archives digitally accessible, and shares knowledge about archiving. The goal is twofold: to show the value of this heritage for society and to find a sustainable solution for preserving and managing these archives.

NADD consists of forty-five partners: including large and small heritage institutions, designers, professional organisations, educational institutions, and experts in the field of design.