In this latest body of work, titled "Blocks, Bars and Balls," Balistreri distills the formal vocabulary he has developed throughout his distinguished career into essential three-dimensional forms. The large-scale sculptures feature spherical cores with blocks of various sizes radiating outward, connected by linear bars, a deceptively simple formula that yields infinite possibilities. With over forty sculptures completed or in progress, the series represents both a refinement and an expansion of the artist's ceramic practice. The vertical sculptures loosely reference the figure while drawing inspiration from midcentury modernism in painting, sculpture, and design. Balistreri's glazing techniques are equally significant, creating surfaces that evoke geologic time—as if stone were slowly melting over the forms. The result is work that exists outside time, addressing the universal human condition rather than immediate social or political concerns.

 "When I was young, once a year I would get to climb inside huge boilers at my family's greenhouse business. I would lie face down on the steel tubes washing out the slag and the scale, repairing refractory where needed.  It was a dark, rusty place, filled with echoes.  It was my favorite job.  After starting the boiler, the 250-horsepower blower would wind up and the massive burner would ignite, shaking the room. As the water turned to steam, the steel header hammered and the whole place warmed up. It was visceral, primeval, it felt alive, and I understood it. That boiler is still in my bones when I walk into the studio. I hope that my work contains some of that spirt as it moves into the world as sculpture or painting.”