Richard Shaw

Ceramicist
American, b. 1941

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Born in Los Angeles, Richard Shaw was the child of an artist mother and a Walt Disney cartoonist/animator father. Shaw was surrounded by art from a young age. Set on becoming a painter, Shaw briefly attended Orange Coast College, in Orange County, where he first began to work with clay. Shaw then attended the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) and in 1963 seriously began working with ceramics, citing professors Ron Nagle, Jim Melchert, Peter Voulkos, and John Mason as inspiring figures. After completing his BFA at SFAI, he attended Alfred University, New York, and returned to California to teach at SFAI from 1966–1987. He studied with Robert Arneson for his MFA in 1968 at University of California, Davis. Shaw was Professor of Ceramics at the University of California, Berkeley from 1987 to 2021. (SFAI) and in 1963 seriously began working with ceramics, citing professors Ron Nagle, Jim Melchert, Peter Voulkos, and John Mason as inspiring figures. After completing his BFA at SFAI, he attended Alfred University, New York, and returned to California to teach at SFAI from 1966–1987. He studied with Robert Arneson for his MFA in 1968 at University of California, Davis. Shaw was Professor of Ceramics at the University of California, Berkeley from 1987 to 2021.