Rudy Autio (1926 - 2007) was one of the most influential artists working in clay over the last fifty years. A founding resident of the Archie Bray Foudation and 2007 recipient of the James Renwick Alliance’s Master of the Medium for clay, Rudy Autio and his ceramic sculptures have influenced many, while successfully blurring the line between craft and fine art. He is known for his beautiful figurative ceramic vessels that evoke the narrative imagery of a Matisse odalisque as well as the Abstract Expressionism of DeKooning. His work can be seen in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Brooklyn Museum, the Carnegie Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the St. Louis Art Museum, and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, among many others worldwide.