ABOUT
Living in the Midwest.
Drawing from the Maine coast.
David “Butch” Buetsche is a contemporary mixed-media artist and founder of Coastal Ruinism, a body of work investigating erosion, fragmentation, and the traces left behind by people and place. Based in the Midwest, Buetsche draws from years of travel and research along the New England coast, using its maritime history, weathered structures, and evolving shorelines as a conceptual framework for exploring memory, loss, and transformation.
Working across painting, collage, and material integration, his practice examines how coastal environments break down over time—physically, visually, and psychologically. His work is currently focused on expanding Coastal Ruinism into a larger body of sculptural and mixed-media installations. His work has recently been featured by Create! Magazine as part of the Time Capsule exhibition curated by Alicia Puig.
Recent Recognition
Featured by Create! Magazine as part of the Time Capsule exhibition, curated by Alicia Puig of PxP Contemporary.
Read the artist feature →
Objects such as rope, buoy fragments, and industrial remnants are not added as symbols, but embedded as extensions of the same system—existing between image and material.
Core Practice
Buetsche’s work operates within a defined system:
horizons that shift or fail
signals that appear, degrade, or disappear
structures that resist collapse, but never fully hold
Surfaces are built through layering, abrasion, and removal—allowing forms to emerge and recede simultaneously.
Conceptual Frame
Rather than depicting landscape, the work reconstructs it through memory and disruption.
Coastal Ruinism is not about location—it is about condition:
Erosion over time
Failed navigation
Interrupted connection
Partial recognition
Each piece exists in tension between what is seen and what is lost.
Process + Materials
Works are developed through a combination of:
Archival and constructed imagery
Paint, graphite, and abrasion
Embedded materials and surface intervention
The process is iterative—built, broken, and reworked—
until the image resists full resolution.
David Buetsche is a contemporary mixed media artist. His work is sometimes searched under alternate spellings such as David Butchy, David Butchee, David Buetche, David Buetsch, David David Bueche, David Butsche, David Betche or David Betchy.