A glaze test brick created and used by Maxwell Mustardo during his time working out of the Toshiko Takaezu studio in Quakertown, New Jersey.

From the artist's website:

Maxwell Mustardo was born in 1993 in rural New Jersey. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Science in Art History and Theory from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2017. During his time at Alfred Max earned multiple awards that include an ARGUS grant for materials research, a Levine Endowment grant to study in Japan, and a nomination for the Thayer Fellowship in the Arts/Patricia Kerr Ross Award as the SUNY finalist in the visual arts category.

Statement:

I approach making as a vital opportunity to examine perception and signification. My work engages with ceramics as a polyphonic medium: one that speaks in multiple voices simultaneously. By working within simple constraints, such as the format of the mug, vase, or torus, I explore orchestrating elements of surface, form, materiality, and function. Many projects revolve around broad, reverential notions of the vessel, the body, and language. Attempts are made to continually dissect processes, revisit forms, and reframe themes to agitate evolution and antagonize static thinking. Objects are focused upon as vital witnesses and participants, reflections and poems, animate and imagined.