Tower 8
Tower 8
1 2

Michael Gustavson

Tower 8
$2,000
$2,000
Sale Sold out

Michael Gustavson

$2,000
$2,000
Sale Sold out
Glazed ceramic
18.1"×8"×6"

Glazed ceramic

18.1"×8"×6"

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Tower 8
Tower 8
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About

The Piece

Deep teal at the crown gives way to vivid geometric colour below. The forms are arranged with the same care and confidence Gustavson brings to his larger works, and the piece feels complete rather than small. Working at this scale requires the same layered glazing approach he uses across the full collection, and the reduction firing produces the same depth of colour here as it does in works many times this size.

The glazes hold their richness regardless of scale, which is part of what makes even the smaller tower works feel substantial. A strong way into the collection.

It holds its presence on a desk, shelf, or plinth without needing space around it to breathe.

 

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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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