Forest Murmurs
Forest Murmurs
Forest Murmurs
Forest Murmurs
Forest Murmurs
1 5

Michael Gustavson

Forest Murmurs
$21,000
$21,000
Sale Sold out

Michael Gustavson

$21,000
$21,000
Sale Sold out
Glazed ceramic
80"×26"×11"

Glazed ceramic

80"×26"×11"

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Forest Murmurs
Forest Murmurs
Forest Murmurs
Forest Murmurs
Forest Murmurs
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About

The Piece

An earlier column that shows how long Gustavson has been working at this level. Deep jewel tones of purple, teal, and warm earth move across the surface with a richness that feels genuinely built up over time, the result of multiple glaze layers transformed by the kiln's reduction atmosphere. This is the same process he has refined across more than four decades, and the maturity of the surface here is a direct record of that investment.

The colour doesn't sit on the surface of the clay. It seems to come from inside it, something that consistently catches people off guard when they see it in person. The form tapers naturally toward the top, giving the piece a quiet authority.

It holds its own against anything placed near it.

 

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About

The Artist

The Artist
About

The Artist

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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