# Black Beauty

A deep grey-black ground anchors this bench, 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. It is a different palette from much of Gustavson's work, quieter and more restrained, but the surface depth and ambition behind it are the same.

The contrast between the dark ground and the colour forms gives Black Beauty a mood that rewards slower looking. The same process that drives his most saturated columns is at work here, just turned in a different direction.

It works equally well as a functional object and as sculpture.

[Browse all works by Michael Gustavson](/collections/michael-gustavson)

## Details

- **Price:** 8500.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Art Scout
- **Type:** Ceramic Sculpture
- **Tags:** black glaze, buy original art online, California artist, ceramic sculpture, collector art, Michael Gustavson, original sculpture, raku, totem

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 8500.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Black Beauty – studio raku ceramic bench by Gustavson with deep grey-black reduction-fired ground and circular colour forms in red, white, and earth tones
- Black Beauty by Gustavson – detail of shimmering grey-black glaze with red and white circular forms on ceramic bench surface
- Black Beauty by Gustavson – full view of functional ceramic bench with restrained dark palette and layered glaze depth

## Additional Information

- **Dimensions:** 31"×14"×19.5"
- **Artist Material:** Glazed ceramic
- **Artist Name:** Michael Gustavson
- **About The Artist Link:** https://www.artscout.pro/collections/michael-gustavson

### About The Artist Content

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 Gustavson’s practice is a firing approach he has developed and refined over decades, evolving from but ultimately departing from traditional raku. Rather than removing works from the kiln, he introduces pine needles at lower temperatures to create the reduction atmosphere while the pieces remain inside. This highly individual, studio-developed method allows him to work at significant scale and achieve exceptional chromatic depth and painterly nuance in glazed ceramic. Few ceramic artists pursue color with this level of painterly ambition.

Over a four-decade career, Gustavson has pushed the expressive potential of clay, developing a controlled yet highly responsive surface language. Describing himself as a painter-sculptor, he treats each form as a three-dimensional canvas built through layered glazes, textures, and color interactions. His vessels often suggest the human figure in motion, while his wall reliefs activate negative space as an integral compositional force. Large-scale outdoor sculptures and benches extend this painterly vision into powerful tectonic forms.

Inspired by Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Jackson Pollock, Gustavson’s surfaces often feature controlled dripping and expressive movement, translating the energy of abstract painting into fired clay.

Gustavson earned his MFA from San José State University in 1980. His work is held in major public and private collections worldwide, including IBM, Kaiser Permanente, Seagate, Cranbrook Museum, and Eastman Kodak.

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> Source: [Art Scout](https://www.artscout.pro/products/black-beauty)
> Updated: 2026-08-28