On nearly 27 wooded acres outside the town of Catskill, New York, artist has been hard at work on a creative compound like no other. For two decades, he has constructed an artist-built environment from salvaged materials comprising numerous living spaces and work areas. Recently listed for $269,000, the off-grid property known as “” could be yours.
Bua’s project originated with the idea to “build one of every type of dwelling we could with materials that were easily at hand,” the artist tells Colossal. From repurposed vinyl records, bottles, and reclaimed wood, a sprawling “repurposed city” emerged as painted signs, sculptures, and one-of-a-kind structures popped up over time.
Bua describes his approach as “intuitive building,” working in response to the natural terrain, found materials, and vernacular structures of the northeast. He wrote a book titled , which focuses on the region’s tens of thousands of miles of historic stone walls and considers history and material culture merge in the ways we understand “place.”
Bua lived in Brooklyn when he purchased the property. “All I wanted to do was go up there and build,” he recently told . He was inspired by self-sustaining communities like in Colorado, an artists’ commune formed in 1960 with a reputation for remarkable hand-built homes. Incidentally, he also used to maintain Catskill’s quirky , an installation of an enormous bobcat made from scraps of wood.
Along with a cohort of friends who have contributed freestanding artworks and functional structures over the years, Bua approached “B-Home” as a collaborative experiment “informed by the needs and desires of our surrounding community.”
Learn more about Bua’s work on his .
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article appeared first on .
Related Posts
