Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Buduo.
Hi Steven, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I began making sculptures a year or so after college. I left my entry-level insurance job to attend a three-month drawing residency in Spain.
I decided to go, not knowing what would come out of it. By chance, I was exposed to a variety of sculptures that left me in awe. At that point, sculpture as a discipline was a very foreign thing to me, nonetheless, I responded deeply to them.
I think all of my work since then has in some way been an attempt to make sense of what I experienced there.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest challenge for me is one of practicality. Working in steel or concrete is a dirty, noisy, and laborious process.
Finding a proper space to work, sourcing materials, and obtaining the necessary equipment and tools are all serious challenges that come before the hardest thing of all—making a good sculpture.
Getting all of those things lined up takes ingenuity, support, money, and luck. Sometimes, I’m envious of the writer or poet—all they need is a pen and a piece of paper and they can make their work!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I view what I do as finding a way to make sense out of seemingly meaningless bits of materials, mainly steel and concrete.
I try to pay attention to everything around me and follow my curiosities wherever they may lead. My work is about everything I’ve taken in. I meet a number of artists who know exactly what their work is about and the trajectory of where they want to take it. I don’t think of it in those terms.
Rather, I make this thing in front of me, and after, for whatever reason, I feel a stronger urge to make the next one. What it all means and what separates me as an artist, I’ll leave it for others to decide.
What’s next?
This time of the year usually consists of placing outdoor sculptures for temporary exhibitions.
In addition to my work in Krutch Park in downtown Knoxville, I’ll install works in Maryland, Rhode Island, and Vermont later this month. On a bigger note, I’m moving to the Midwest in August. Growing up in the northeast will be a big change but one I’m excited about.
I drove across the country the last two years and driving through Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, etc. was unlike anything I’ve experienced in Massachusetts. The endless expanse of those states changes your whole perspective of space and time.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://stevebuduo.com/
- Instagram: @stevebuduo
Image Credits
June Scalia
