I N D U S T R I A L
​S I T E   R E C L A I M E D
​Contemporary Unglazed

BRIAN D. KRITZMAN
Michigan, USA
​2025

2.5 x 5.5 x 2 inches
​​Black Clay, Wood, Steel, Paper
Slab Built
Salt Fired to Cone 10

"As a native Detroiter I have had direct contact with old industrial sites that are reclaimed by nature. What strikes me is that no matter the advanced development of the land or it’s contamination, nature is powerful enough to take control back. The smallest fissures in concrete are an opportunity for life to spring up. The industrial site fissures are the inspiration for this pot and its setting.

This is a compressed pot proportion made from unglazed black clay fired to cone 10 in a salt environment. The platform attachments are mechanically applied giving it a sense of constraint. The platform attachments and display tray are made from white oak dyed black. The last element of the display follows the traditional addition of a seasonal ink painting and modifies it to elements that tell of climatic conditions. A dark and foreboding sun is overlayed by a wispy and hopeful cloud form. The intention for this setting is a small bedraggled windswept 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.
​
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.
​​
​
​

Follow Brian D. Kritzman on these platforms:

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

T H A N K   Y O U   T O   O U R   S P O N S O R S

D I S C O V E R   P O T T E R S   I S   P R O U D   T O   S P O N S O R   T H E   2 0 2 5   N O R T H   A M E R I C A N   B O N S A I   P O T T E R Y   C O M P E T I T I O N

For Learning Seminars tickets, lodging, transportation, merchandise, and all other event information, please visit the American Bonsai Society website.

ABS Website