Richard Shaw (born 1941 in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, United States) is an American ceramicist and professor known for his ''
trompe-l'œil
''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
'' (French for "fool the eye") style.
["Richard Shaw: Four Decades of Ceramics"](_blank)
''Sonoma County Museum
The Museum of Sonoma County, commonly known as the Sonoma County Museum, is a non-profit organization located in downtown Santa Rosa, California. Its 7th St. campus comprises the historic 1910 Santa Rosa Post Office, a contemporary art gallery, an ...
'', 2010. Retrieved on 9 February 2017. A term often associated with paintings, referring to the illusion that a two-dimensional surface is three-dimensional. In Shaw's work, it refers to his replication of everyday objects (such as tin cans, playing cards, and cutlery) in porcelain. He then glazes these components and groups them in unexpected and even jarring combinations. Interested in how objects can reflect a person or identity, Shaw poses questions regarding the relationship between appearances and reality.
Education and career
The child of an artist mother and a
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
cartoonist/animator father, Shaw was surrounded by art from a young age.
Though he is now known for his work with ceramics, he initially planned on becoming a painter. For the last three years of high school, he attended Desert Sun School, located in the
San Jacinto Mountains
The San Jacinto Mountains (''Avii Hanupach''Munro, P., et al. ''A Mojave Dictionary''. Los Angeles: UCLA. 1992. in Mojave) are a mountain range in Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles in southern California in the United States. The mou ...
– a private school which had, according to Shaw, an environment that fostered creativity in its students.
Still set on becoming a painter, Shaw then briefly attended
Orange Coast College. At Orange Coast, he met Martha, a painter who would become his wife, and he first began to work with ceramics.
Following his time at Orange Coast College, Shaw attended the
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...
. He identifies 1963 as the year during which he began seriously working with ceramics and pottery, citing professors
Ron Nagle
Ron Nagle (born February 21, 1939) is an American sculptor, musician and songwriter. He is known for small-scale, refined sculptures of great detail and compelling color.
Nagle lives and works in San Francisco, California.
Life
Born in San Fr ...
,
Jim Melchert,
Peter Voulkos
Peter Voulkos (born Panagiotis Harry Voulkos; 29 January 1924 – 16 February 2002) was an American artist of Greek descent. He is known for his abstract expressionist ceramic sculptures, which crossed the traditional divide between ceramic ...
, and
John Mason as inspiring figures during his time at the Institute.
From Voulkos and Mason – who Shaw credits with "revolutionizing" the ceramics scene in the later twentieth century
– he learned to experiment with new kiln firing techniques. The trend in the artistic ceramics world (as opposed to the "commercial pottery" world) had been to create high-fire pieces – pieces fired at higher temperatures, which maximized durability. However, in 1965, Shaw's work was displayed in the Museum of Arts and Design (previously the Museum of Contemporary Crafts) in New York, and many of his pieces there were low-fire, which resulted in their having a different surface finish than traditional high-fire pieces.
In 1965, Shaw earned a
Bachelor of Fine Arts
A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases.
Background
The Bachelor ...
from San Francisco Art Institute, after which he attended the
New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University for a semester, about which he has said, "Where else do you go if you're into ceramics?"
He returned to California to teach at the San Francisco Art Institute from 1966–1987.
["Fellow: Richard Shaw", ''American Craft'', Oct./Nov. 1998.] While teaching at the Institute, he also attended the
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
, earning his
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...
in 1968.
Shaw was Professor of Ceramics at the University of California, Berkeley from 1987 to 2021, and he currently lives in Fairfax, CA with his wife Martha.
Awards
Shaw has received the following awards:
* 2000: Marin Arts Council Board Award, San Rafael, California
* 1998: Shigaraki Cultural Ceramic Park, Shigaraki, Japan
* 1998: Artist in Residence,
Phillips Academy
("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness
, address = 180 Main Street
, city = Andover
, state = Ma ...
, Andover, Massachusetts
* 1996: Annual Life Member Award,
Falkirk Arts Center, San Rafael, California
* 1988: Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree, San Francisco Art Institute
* 1987: Visiting Artist Grant, Atelier Experimental de Recherche et de Création,
Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
The ''Manufacture nationale de Sèvres'' is one of the principal European porcelain factories. It is located in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France. It is the continuation of Vincennes porcelain, founded in 1740, which moved to Sèvres in 1756. It ...
, Paris, France
* 1974:
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
Fellowship
* 1971: National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
Museum collections
Shaw is represented in the following museum collections:
*
Museum of Arts and Design
The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...
, New York, New York
*
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
The in Tokyo, Japan, is the foremost museum collecting and exhibiting modern Japanese art.
This Tokyo museum is also known by the English acronym MOMAT (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo). The museum is known for its collection of 20th-centu ...
, Japan
*
Oakland Museum of California
The Oakland Museum of California or OMCA (formerly the Oakland Museum) is an interdisciplinary museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California, located adjacent to Oak Street, 10th Street, and 11th Street in Oakland, Cali ...
, Oakland, California
*
Racine Art Museum
The Racine Art Museum (RAM) and RAM's Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts are located in Racine, Wisconsin, U.S. The museum holds the largest and most significant contemporary craft collection in North America, with more than 9,500 objects fro ...
, Racine, Wisconsin
* Renwick Gallery of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...
, Washington, DC
*
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...
, San Francisco, California
*
Stedelijk Museum
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. , Amsterdam, The Netherlands
*
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) is the region's primary resource for culture and visual arts. It is located in the Marcia and John Price Museum Building in Salt Lake City, Utah on the University of Utah campus near Rice-Eccles Stadium. Works ...
, Salt Lake City, Utah
* De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA
Selected solo exhibitions
Shaw's solo exhibitions around the United States include:
* 2014: ''Richard Shaw: Ceramic Sculptures'',
B. Sakata Garo, Sacramento, California
* 2010: ''Richard Shaw: Four Decades of Ceramics'',
Sonoma County Museum
The Museum of Sonoma County, commonly known as the Sonoma County Museum, is a non-profit organization located in downtown Santa Rosa, California. Its 7th St. campus comprises the historic 1910 Santa Rosa Post Office, a contemporary art gallery, an ...
, Santa Rosa, California
* 2007: ''Richard Shaw: Working Drawings from Studio Sketchbooks'',
Diablo Valley College
Diablo Valley College (DVC) is a public community college with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon in Contra Costa County, California. DVC is one of three public community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District (along with ...
, Pleasant Hill, California
* 2003: ''Trompe l'Oeil Ceramics'',
Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
* 1998: ''Master's Touch'',
Tempe Art Center, Tempe, Arizona
* 1990:
Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, California
* 1987:
The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii
* 1983:
Madison Art Center
The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA), formerly known as the Madison Art Center, is an independent, non-profit art museum located in downtown Madison, Wisconsin.
MMoCA is dedicated to exhibiting, collecting, and preserving modern and co ...
, Madison, Wisconsin
* 1979:
Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, California
Selected group exhibitions
Shaw's work has been included in the following group exhibitions around the United States:
* 2017: ''Variations on a Theme: Teapots from RAM's Collection'',
Racine Art Museum
The Racine Art Museum (RAM) and RAM's Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts are located in Racine, Wisconsin, U.S. The museum holds the largest and most significant contemporary craft collection in North America, with more than 9,500 objects fro ...
, Racine, Wisconsin
"Variations on a Theme: Teapots from RAM's Collection: January 29 – July 9, 2017"
''Racine Art Museum
The Racine Art Museum (RAM) and RAM's Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts are located in Racine, Wisconsin, U.S. The museum holds the largest and most significant contemporary craft collection in North America, with more than 9,500 objects fro ...
''. Retrieved on 9 February 2017.
* 2016: ''Order & Nature'', Anglim Gilbert Gallery
Anglim Trimble Gallery, formerly Gallery Paule Anglim, and Anglim Gilbert Gallery, is a contemporary commercial art gallery which is located at Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota Street, San Francisco, California The gallery was founded by ...
, San Francisco, California
* 2013: ''New Blue and White: Contemporary Art and Design'', Museum of Fine Arts Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...
, Boston, Massachusetts
* 2013: ''Top 10 at 10: Favorites from RAM's Collection'', Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
* 2012: ''Crafting Modernism, Midcentury American Art and Craft'', Museum of Art and Design
The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...
, New York, New York
* 2012: ''Indelibly Yours: Smith Anderson Editions and the Tattoo Project'', de Saisset Museum
The de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University opened in 1955, after Isabel de Saisset, the last member of a California pioneer family bequeathed her estate to the University of Santa Clara. The museum owns nearly 10,000 art pieces and historica ...
, Santa Clara, California
* 2012: ''Invite and Ignite: the 25th Exhibitions Anniversary and Symposium'', New Castle, Maine
* 2011: ''Not So Still Life'', Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
* 2007: ''The Reality of Things: Trompe l'Oeil in America'', Vero Beach Museum, Vero Beach, Florida
* 2005: ''I Hope You Learned Your Lesson'', Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, California
* 2004: ''Masters of Illusion: 150 Years of Trompe l'Oeil in America'', Kresge Art Museum
The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum (colloquially MSU Broad), is a contemporary art museum at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. It opened on November 10, 2012.
History
On June 1, 2007, Michigan State received a $28 millio ...
, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
* 2002: ''Something, Anything'', Matthew Marks Gallery
Matthew Marks is an art gallery located in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea and the Los Angeles neighborhood of West Hollywood. Founded in 1991 by Matthew Marks, it specializes in modern and contemporary painting, sculpture, photography, ...
, New York, New York
* 2000: ''Expanded Visions'', Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
, Charlottesville, Virginia
* 1995: ''Altered and Irrational, Selected Works from the Permanent Collection'', Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...
, New York, New York
* 1994: ''The Ritual Vessel'', Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Richard
1941 births
Living people
New York State College of Ceramics alumni
San Francisco Art Institute alumni
University of California, Davis alumni
San Francisco Art Institute faculty
Artists from Los Angeles
Nut artists
Trompe-l'œil artists