# The Edge of Time - Triptych

Three large irregular slabs carrying a rich and varied palette across a wide arrangement. The upper slab moves through olive, navy, white, and red with Cubist confidence. The right slab is the boldest, vivid orange ground with a large textured blue-grey circle at its centre. The lower slab is the most rhythmic, teal, orange, and white moving through it in arcing forms that feel genuinely lively. Each slab fires separately and the kiln resolves the surfaces a little differently across all three. The largest of the triptychs, and the one that rewards the most wall space.

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

## Details

- **Price:** 7800.0 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 | 7800.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Edge of Time Triptych – three large irregular studio raku ceramic slabs by Gustavson in olive, navy, white, red, vivid orange, blue-grey, and teal, each slab fired separately with natural glaze variation giving the triptych its life, largest triptych in collection
- The Edge of Time Triptych by Gustavson – detail of bold upper slab in olive, navy, white, and red with Cubist confidence
- The Edge of Time Triptych by Gustavson – full three-slab installation showing vivid orange right slab with large textured blue-grey circle and rhythmic lower teal and orange slab
- The Edge of Time Triptych by Gustavson – close-up of vivid orange ground with large textured blue-grey circle at center of boldest right slab
- The Edge of Time Triptych by Gustavson – triptych installed in room requiring most wall space and rewarding it fully
- The Edge of Time - Triptych
- The Edge of Time - Triptych

## Additional Information

- **Dimensions:** 60"×46"×1.5"
- **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/the-edge-of-time-triptych)
> Updated: 2026-05-20