Jane Bustin

Jane Bustin combines traditional and contemporary materials, exploring the relationship between abstract minimalist composition and the sentimental qualities of ceramic, textiles and found objects. Concerned with deconstructing the formal components of abstraction, she considers the properties and arrangement of materials, extending the link between craft, concept and movement. Bustin likens her grandmother’s laundering, baking and crocheting routines to the type of diligence she applies as an artist; folding, flattening and rolling until the organic is contained. The pale tones, reflective surfaces and intuitive organization prompt a tenderness and familiarity reminiscent of a bedroom vanity, a micro space of solace within the home. The artist maneuvers a relationship between the object’s ontology and its transformation into vehicles of psychological projection; a parallel to the work’s intimate development in the studio against its perceptive contextual availability in the gallery. Bustin’s influences include fourteenth century frescoes, Belle epoque iconography, nineteenth century poetry, Japanese ceramics, hardware stores, neon signs, cosmetics, and candy wrappers.