B A R R E N
​F A R M L A N D
​Contemporary Glazed

BRIAN D. KRITZMAN
Michigan, USA
​2025

2.75 x 6 x 5 inches
Stoneware, Wood, Brass, Paper
Slab Built
Salt Fired to Cone 10

"As a midwesterner, I have been surrounded by working farmland. An unlikely but beautiful scene is the barren field during the winter months, which shows the residual mark of the plow. The landscape has a brown and gray color palette under a bright sky. Barren farmland is the inspiration for this pot and setting.

The five sided pot is made from cone 10 stoneware in a studio mixed tan glaze fired in a salt environment. I believe the five side pot shape coordinates with tree’s root structure in a more naturalistic way. Another common sight on a farm field are the pile of rocks gathered and stacked off to the side clearing the land for the plow. Inspired by the rock pile, a companion piece is a rock like element made and glazed the same as the pot.

​The last element of the display follows the traditional addition of a seasonal ink painting and modifies it to elements that tell of wispy clouds gliding over a barren field. The intention for this setting is a small broom style fruit tree."

​- Brian D. Kritzman

A B O U T   B R I A N   D .   K R I T Z M A N

MFA, 1989, Cranbrook Academy of Art, 3D Design
BFA, 1986, Wayne State University, Industrial Design

Professor of Industrial Design, Wayne State University, Detroit Michigan
My work examines impermanence, mutability, and imperfection realized as simple domestic objects that encourage reflection.
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Currently, I am working on a project titled “American Bonsai Furniture”. This project looks at the tradition of Japanese Bonsai display and recasts it through a regional lens. I am looking to the midwestern industrial landscape and vast expanses of farmland as inspiration.
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Follow Brian D. Kritzman on these platforms:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/brian_kritzman_design/?hl=en
Website: briankritzman.com/briankritzman/First.html

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