# Crowing at the Moon

Two ceramic forms stacked on a stone base, rising together to a considerable height. The lower section is warmer and more complex, broad planes of orange, teal, red, and gold meeting at sharp angles. The upper section shifts into a cooler register, deep navy and teal with arcing lines and small vivid circles moving upward toward the crown. Gustavson has spent over four decades developing the scale and chromatic ambition on display here. Few ceramic artists work at this scale with this level of painterly intention. A cast crow perches at the summit, alert and still - one of the more commanding works in the collection.

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

## Details

- **Price:** 19800.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Art Scout
- **Type:** Ceramic Sculpture
- **Tags:** animal art, buy original art online, California artist, ceramic sculpture, collector art, Michael Gustavson, original sculpture, raku, totem

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 19800.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Crowing at the Moon – tall two-section studio raku ceramic column by Gustavson with lower warm orange, teal, red, and gold planes and upper cool navy and teal with arcing lines and circles, cast crow perching at summit
- Crowing at the Moon by Gustavson – detail of warm lower orange and teal planes with crackled circular moon form in large-scale studio raku column
- Crowing at the Moon by Gustavson – full commanding two-section column with cast crow at summit showing chromatic ambition at great scale
- Crowing at the Moon by Gustavson – close-up of cool navy and teal upper section with arcing lines and vivid circles moving toward crow-topped crown
- Crowing at the Moon by Gustavson – ceramic column in room showing commanding scale and height with alert cast crow perching above
- Crowing at the Moon
- Crowing at the Moon
- Crowing at the Moon

## Additional Information

- **Dimensions:** 74"×15"×16"
- **Artist Material:** Raku-fired 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/crowing-at-the-moon)
> Updated: 2026-08-28