Richard Shaw (b. 1941)

Richard Shaw (b. 1941), a nationally acclaimed ceramist of unique wit and wildly creative style, earned his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1965, where he also taught. He was a professor of ceramics at UC Berkeley for decades. Shaw was deeply involved in the 1960s San Francisco funk movement and worked alongside other well-known artists from that period, such as Joan Brown, Bruce Conner, and Peter Voulkos. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Richard and his wife, artist Martha Shaw lived at historic Whitegate Ranch above Stinson Beach, along with artists Robert Hudson and Cornelia Schultz. They raised their children on the ranch, all of whom went to Bolinas Stinson School. Shaw’s daughter, Alice, whose work was recently featured in the museum’s photography gallery, credits the school art program for the diversity in her work today.

Seaside Collection is an example of Shaw’s mature style and his signature trompe-l’œil approach, which refers to his replication of everyday objects in porcelain. His  trompe-l’œil porcelains fool the eye and play with the senses, comment on our culture, and show his dazzling mastery of his craft. An inexperienced observer might see a Shaw sculpture and assume it is made of mixed media using real objects—only to be startled and amused that all of the pieces are skillfully crafted out of porcelain, glazes, and paint.

Bolinas Museum presented a main gallery exhibition of Shaw’s work in 2007. He has also participated in many auctions and mini exhibitions. Shaw’s work is held in the collections of institutions such as the Smithsonian, Whitney Museum, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.