For the past decade, ceramic artist Casey Zablocki has been creating rugged sculptural forms in a wood-fired kiln surrounded by Montana’s Lolo National Forest, Clark Fork River, and Mission and Rattlesnake Mountains. It’s a physically gruelling process. “It takes a crew of six of us to roll everything into the tunnel-shaped kiln,” he explains, dressed in classic outdoorsman gear: jeans, checked shirt and baseball cap. “For one firing, I use around 11 cords of wood – harvested sustainably from fallen or standing dead trees – which need to be chopped and split into small pieces.” Once lit, the kiln is stoked to almost 1,300°C and kept ablaze for eight days. “We run it 24/7,” he says. “It’s intense. A marathon. I’m throwing chunks of wood on top of my work to get the effects and surfaces I want.In 2022, Zablocki’s ancient-looking plinths and pots were the subject of Modern Relics, a solo show at New York’s Guild Gallery that was a turning point in his career. “The works instantly sold out,” says Robin Standefer who, with her husband Stephen Alesch, runs Guild Gallery, Roman and Williams Guild store, and the architecture and design studio Roman and Williams. This September, they will host Zablocki’s second show. “It focuses on a single avenue of his practice: ceramic furniture,” she says.