Bas Kosters is a Dutch artist and designer known for his colorful, socially engaged and personal work that makes extensive use of exuberant figures, characters, eroticism and texts. Originally graduated as a fashion designer, he has always moved very freely through the creative field. Since 2017, he has focused primarily on creating autonomous work. His stories are expressed in tapestries, puppets, sets, costumes, glass objects, installations, drawings and paintings. He creates worlds inhabited by radiant, alarming and endearing figures that reflect his social engagement. No matter the discipline, Bas works vigorously and with enthusiasm, but he is especially fond of textile and graphic art, which he uses to express and celebrate personal and societal themes. He approaches difficult emotions in a light-footed way, with subtle and sometimes wry humor and his trademark texts. Bas’ fascination for cartoon characters, visualizations and erotica leads to a reality full of friction, full of different views that compete for your attention.

• Exhibitions at Galerie Bart: Under the resting clouds 2023

Bas Kosters was born and raised in Zutphen (1977). He attended the MBO course Fashion at the Rijn IJssel College in Arnhem where he graduated in 1997. He then graduated as a fashion designer in 2001 from the AKI Academy of Fine Arts in Enschede. In 2002 he attended the Master’s degree program Fashion Institute Arnhem. He graduated with the collection ‘Two Teacups and a Frying Pan’. With this collection he won the Robijn fashion award. In 2005, he founded the Bas Kosters Studio in Amsterdam. Here, until 2017, he made fashion collections where the fashion shows were an art manifestation in themselves. After his latest collection “Dear Sir/Madam; HOPE” from 2018, he focuses mainly on autonomous art and artistic commissions. In 2022, Bas did a residency at Foundation European Ceramic Work Center Oisterwijk with a focus on creating ceramic pieces.

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2023 •
24.06 Het Parool De stijl van kunstenaar Bas Kosters: ‘Ik ben een soort sjamanistische unicornpiraat’ by Carly Wollaert.

2022 •
05.03 De Gooi- en Eemlander Kunstenaar en ontwerper Bas Kosters: ’Rokken zijn niet voor meisjes, maar voor heu-pen’ by Madelon Meester.
11.03 NTR Kunstenaar Bas Kosters: ‘Mijn werk gaat over frictie’ with Christiaan Bonebakker.
07.05 De Correspondent Identiteit is een vat vol tegenstrijdigheden, laat ontwerper Bas Kosters zien by Lex Bohlmeijer.

2021 •
07.11 de Volkskrant Ex-modeontwerper Bas Kosters heeft wilde toekomstplannen by Carolien Spaans.

2018 •
13.04 Het Parool Prijswinnend designer Bas Kosters: ‘Ik speel met rollen’ by Roelf Jan Duin.
13.04 AD Het verhaal achter de bijzondere mode-creaties van Bas Kosters by Annemart van Rhee.