# Paris Triptych

Three irregular ceramic slabs arranged together as a single wall piece, each one carrying a different but related surface. The palette is cooler and more complex than Gustavson's more recent work, deep greens, blacks, warm creams, and passages of rust and burgundy across the grouping. It is an earlier work, and it shows a different register of his thinking, more restrained in colour but no less resolved.

Each slab is fired separately, and the reduction process resolves a little differently across each one. That natural variation gives the triptych a tension that feels right, the three pieces unified in language but individual in character. Geometric forms overlap and intersect across the surfaces, echoing the Cubist tradition that has informed his work from the beginning.

A mature and layered work with strong wall presence.

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

## Details

- **Price:** 7600.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Art Scout
- **Type:** Ceramic Sculpture
- **Tags:** buy original art online, California artist, ceramic sculpture, collector art, Michael Gustavson, original sculpture, raku, triptych, wall relief

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 7600.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Paris Triptych – three ceramic slab wall piece by Gustavson in deep greens, blacks, warm creams, and passages of rust and burgundy with Cubist geometric forms
- Paris Triptych by Gustavson – detail of overlapping Cubist geometric forms in deep green and rust on individually fired ceramic slab
- Paris Triptych by Gustavson – full three-slab wall installation in deep greens, black, and cream with natural glaze variation across each piece

## Additional Information

- **Dimensions:** 58"×52"×1.5"
- **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/paris-triptych)
> Updated: 2026-05-20