# Time Alone - Bench

More rectilinear than Sit With Me, this bench organises its surface into bold stacked sections of colour - navy, teal, red, orange, yellow, and crackled white - arranged with a grid-like clarity. A large pale circle with splattered marks drawn through it appears near the top, a surface gesture that connects directly to Gustavson's admiration for Pollock. The raku process treats each colour area a little differently - some surfaces smooth and saturated, others with a crackle that catches and diffuses the light. A piece that holds its presence in a garden as naturally as it does in a room.

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

## Details

- **Price:** 7800.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Art Scout
- **Type:** Ceramic Sculpture
- **Tags:** bench, buy original art online, California artist, ceramic sculpture, collector art, functional art, Michael Gustavson, raku

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 7800.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Time Alone Bench – more rectilinear studio raku ceramic bench by Gustavson with bold stacked sections of navy, teal, red, orange, yellow, and crackled white in grid-like clarity, large pale circle with Pollock-inspired splattered marks at top
- Time Alone Bench by Gustavson – detail of large pale circle with splattered marks connected to Pollock admiration at top of rectilinear raku bench
- Time Alone Bench by Gustavson – full view of bold stacked color section bench in navy, teal, red, and crackled white with grid-like energy
- Time Alone Bench by Gustavson – close-up of varied raku surface from smooth saturated to crackle-textured across different color sections
- Time Alone Bench by Gustavson – ceramic bench holding presence in garden as naturally as in a room with distinct face composition
- Time Alone - Bench
- Time Alone - Bench
- Time Alone - Bench

## Additional Information

- **Dimensions:** 19"×33"×14"
- **Artist Material:** Raku-fired glazed ceramic bench
- **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/time-alone-bench-gustavson)
> Updated: 2026-05-20