GUSTIN TILE - Key Persons

Chris Gustin has a distinguished career as a studio artist, spanning more than forty years of national and international exhibitions. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Shigaraki Cultural Park in Japan, the Museum of Art and Design in New York City, the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, and the Everson Museum of Art to name a few. Chris has been the recipient of numerous awards including two individual artist fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Master Craftsman Award from the The Society for Arts and Crafts in Boston. His work has been extensively published, including "American Ceramics: 1876 to the Present" by Garth Clark. In 1994, Chris and his wife, painter Nancy Train Smith, began working with architect Michele Foster of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, to design their own house. As part of the project Chris made all the tile for the new home including the entry and hall floors, kitchen floor, bathrooms, shower stalls and fireplace surrounds. In what turned out to be the first of many collaborations with Ms. Foster, it was natural for Chris to use the materials and techniques he had developed over years of making pottery. Chris chose high-fired clay for its rugged durability, and his own complex signature glazes for the variety, beauty and individuality of their surfaces. In what started out as a personal project, Chris realized that he was making a product that was of interest to architects and designers. Thus began Gustin Ceramics Tile Production. In the years since, Chris has produced tile for numerous homes around the country. Gustin Tile is represented nationally by architects, designers and tile showrooms. Gustin Ceramics offers tile in a range of sizes, from a 12 inch floor tile to a 3 inch bath tile. And with a choice of fifty glaze colors, including earth tones, blues, greens, and neutrals, almost any need can be satisfied. In addition custom tile sizes, glaze colors and sculptural installations such as fireplace surrounds are also available by special order.