Rudy Autio

Rudy Autio was a professor of ceramics and sculpture at the University of Montana, Missoula from 1957 to 1971, as well as a founding resident artist at the Archie Bray Ceramics Foundation in Helena, Montana. His ceramic work, large slab-built forms often with brightly colored, floating female nudes and animal figures, helped to redefine the discipline, abandoning the functional aspects of clay vessels and highlighting the sculptural qualities instead. He is often referred to as the "Matisse of ceramics."

Education: B.S. Montana State University, Bozeman, 1950; M.F.A., Washington State University, Pullman, 1952