"Paris Triptych" by Michael Gustavson, Raku Ceramic Three-Panel Wall Sculpture, Deep Green and Rust Glaze, Contemporary California Art, Vibrant Colors

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Three irregular ceramic slabs arranged together as a single wall piece, each carrying a different but related surface. Deep greens, … Read more Three irregular ceramic slabs arranged together as a single wall piece, each carrying a different but related surface. Deep greens, blacks, warm creams, and passages of rust and burgundy move across the grouping with a restrained, considered palette. Each slab is fired separately and the reduction process resolves a little differently across each one, giving the triptych a natural variation that makes it feel genuinely alive on the wall. It works beautifully above a sofa, across a dining room wall, or as the focal point of a hallway or stairwell, bringing real scale and depth to any large wall surface.

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