Richard Shaw is internationally recognized as a master of trompe l’oeil ceramic sculpture. His meticulously crafted ceramic works replicate everyday objects such as books, playing cards, and tools with uncanny realism. Through these carefully assembled compositions, Shaw challenges viewers to reconsider the boundaries between appearance and authenticity. A longtime professor and influential figure in contemporary ceramics, Shaw’s work blends humor, craftsmanship, and conceptual inquiry. By transforming familiar objects into sculptural illusions, he invites reflection on identity, memory, and the narratives embedded within ordinary things. BORN1941, Hollywood (Los Angeles), California, USA EDUCATIONMFA, Ceramics, University of California, Davis — 1968 BFA, San Francisco Art Institute — 1965 Studied briefly at New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University ACEDEMIC POSITIONSProfessor of Ceramics, University of California, Berkeley — 1987–2012 (later emeritus) Faculty, San Francisco Art Institute — 1966–1987 SELECTED AWARDSNational Endowment for the Arts Fellowship — 1971 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship — 1974 Visiting Artist Grant, Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, Paris — 1987 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, San Francisco Art Institute — 1988 Marin Arts Council Board Award — 2000 SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONSRichard Shaw: Ceramic Sculptures, B. Sakata Garo, Sacramento — 2014 Richard Shaw: Four Decades of Ceramics, Sonoma County Museum — 2010 Working Drawings from Studio Sketchbooks, Diablo Valley College — 2007 Trompe l’Oeil Ceramics, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge — 2003 Master’s Touch, Tempe Art Center — 1998 SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONSCrafting Modernism, Museum of Arts and Design, New York — 2012 Masters of Illusion: Trompe l’Oeil in America, Michigan State University — 2004 Something, Anything, Matthew Marks Gallery, New York — 2002 Altered and Irrational, Whitney Museum of American Art — 1995 PUBLIC COLLECTIONSShaw’s work is held in major museum collections including:Smithsonian American Art Museum (Renwick Gallery)San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtWhitney Museum of American ArtMuseum of Arts and Design, New YorkStedelijk Museum, AmsterdamNational Museum of Modern Art, TokyoOakland Museum of CaliforniaRacine Art Museum