Foster is a contemporary New Zealand sculptor, who works from his Kaikoura studio, set amidst the dramatic land and seascape of the South Island’s east coast.
The inspiration for many of his works, including Windswept, comes from this combination of land and sea.
Installed in natural settings, Foster’s kinetic pieces essentialise the forms of nature, reinterpreting them as the source of many quintessential elements of human art and design.
As a minimalist, Foster is interested in reducing natural forms to their most general, drawing on subtleties to highlight contrasts. His sculptures explore how features can be abstracted to the barest representation, yet still convey particular characteristics, such as movement and tension.
Foster’s works bear testament to his technical expertise and craftsmanship. In his clean lines, minimal forms, and sculptural treatment of subjects and themes, Foster’s work is contemporary and refreshingly simple. Through slick design and industrial production his sculptures are at once ambivalent and stark, yet take on a universal appeal.
Infinity, 2016. Aluminium, bearing, exterior sealant. 3000 x W 900 x D 900mm. Edition of 3.
As a minimalist, Foster is interested in reducing natural forms to their most general, drawing on subtleties to highlight contrasts. His sculptures explore how features can be abstracted to the barest representation, yet still convey particular characteristics, such as movement and tension.
Foster’s works subtly respond to the concerns of environmental art, becoming part of the natural context they inhabit by altering and interacting with their surroundings. The reflective and kinetic properties of his sculptures change in response to the environment, augmenting and altering the viewer’s experience of the physical surroundings as forces of light and wind act on the work.
The impact of landscape characteristics on Foster’s work is immediately apparent. His kinetic sculptures are inspired by the essence of natural elements, such as geological features, winds, waves, currents, and botanical forms. The monumental scale of some of his works can also be linked to the environment, with Foster channelling aspects of the dramatic mountainous landscape surrounding his studio.
Despite Foster’s profound association with nature’s contouring mastery, he never attempts to conceal the mechanical origin of his art, fusing organic and the manmade with commanding consistency.
This concept may be interpreted in a number of ways to suggest the natural forms of a seedpod, leaf or feather.
Voyage is a visually engaging work in its soothing fluidity, it is simultaneously uplifting and restful.
Voyage, 2011. Aluminium, sealed bearing, exterior sealant. 2200 x 600 x 400mm. Edition of 3.
