"Dream a Little" by Michael Gustavson, Raku Ceramic Vessel, Deep Navy and Orange Glaze, Miro-Inspired, Contemporary California Art, Vibrant Colors

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Low, wide, and quietly confident, this vessel feels like it has found its natural resting shape. The surface is divided … Read more Low, wide, and quietly confident, this vessel feels like it has found its natural resting shape. The surface is divided into bold sections of deep navy, warm grey, yellow, orange, and red, each colour clean and precise against the others. Small circular marks appear across the surface, part of Gustavson's distinctive visual language. It sits beautifully on a coffee table, a low shelf, or a wide windowsill, where its broad, grounded form and vivid palette can anchor a living room or studio space.

Michael Gustavson is a California-based ceramic artist who builds upon the traditional Japanese process of raku, reimagining it through a distinctly contemporary and highly personal methodology. His work bridges free-form organic sculpture and painterly abstraction, distinguished by unusually vivid, luminous color rarely achieved in ceramic sculpture. Central to his practice is a firing approach developed and refined over decades, introducing pine needles at lower temperatures to create a reduction atmosphere while pieces remain inside the kiln. This highly individual studio-developed method allows him to work at significant scale and achieve exceptional chromatic depth and painterly nuance. Describing himself as a painter-sculptor, he treats each form as a three-dimensional canvas built through layered glazes, textures, and color interactions. Inspired by Miro, Picasso, Kandinsky, Mondrian, and Pollock, his surfaces often feature controlled dripping and expressive movement, translating the energy of abstract painting into fired clay. Gustavson earned his MFA from San Jose State University in 1980. His work is held in major public and private collections worldwide, including IBM, Kaiser Permanente, Seagate, Cranbrook Museum, Eastman Kodak, the Bel-Air Hotel, ANA Hotel Tokyo, and private collectors including Goldie Hawn and Dr. Linus Pauling. See less