"Just South of the Moon" by Michael Gustavson, Raku Ceramic Triptych Wall Sculpture, Soft Green Cream and Earth Tones, Contemporary California Art

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Three organic slab forms in a quiet palette, soft greens, warm creams, greys, and earthy reds drawn by the reduction … Read more Three organic slab forms in a quiet palette, soft greens, warm creams, greys, and earthy reds drawn by the reduction firing into a subtle richness. The mood is calm rather than bold, and the surfaces reward a slower kind of looking. Circular forms appear across each piece, tying the grouping together with a quiet rhythm. This triptych is particularly well suited to a bedroom, a reading room, a spa, or any space where you want art that brings stillness and warmth rather than drama.

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