"Black Beauty" Raku Ceramic Bench by Michael Gustavson, Cubism Contemporary California Art for Indoors and Outdoors Garden, Functional Art

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Solid and striking, this ceramic bench carries a deep grey-black ground, the reduction firing producing a surface that shimmers rather … Read more Solid and striking, this ceramic bench carries a deep grey-black ground, the reduction firing producing a surface that shimmers rather than sits flat. Circular colour forms in red, white, and earth tones are placed across it with a calm, considered rhythm, each one distinct and none competing for attention. The surface depth is a direct result of Gustavson's pine needle reduction process, a technique developed and refined over four decades that produces colour qualities unlike any standard ceramic firing. Equally at home indoors and outdoors, it works beautifully as a statement piece in a living room, entryway, or hallway, and just as powerfully in a garden, courtyard, or terrace. The dark ground handles natural light and changing weather with a presence that only deepens over time. Fully functional as seating and a serious work of art.

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