As an artist active since the late 1960s, Buster Simpson has worked on major infrastructure and planning projects, sight specific sculptures, museum installations, and community interventions. Simpson received a MFA in 1969, and later, the Distinguished Alumni Award in Architecture and Design, at the University of Michigan. He is a recipient of numerous awards, among them, NEA fellowships and the Americans for the Arts Public Art Award in 2009.
Simpson's work employs site specific opportunities, engages social actions, and sustainable opportunities, often considered "poetic utility". Humor and rich metaphors distinguish his work, with deceptively simple sculptures offering social and ecological engagements and solutions to real problems.
In 2013 the Frye Art Museum mounted a major retrospective of my work. In May of 2015 and 2016, Simpson conducted Rising Waters confab at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation on Captiva Island, Florida. This confab brought together a collaborative team of scientist, artists, land use specialists, and activists to create approaches to resilience and the graceful migration of people and biota.
Simpson has exhibited at The New Museum, MoMA PS1, Seattle Art Museum, Frye Art Museum, The Hirshhorn Museum, Capp Street Project, Museum of Glass. Simpson's work is included in numerous public commissions throughout North America.