Peter Layton - Verrerie d'Art

Born in Prague of parents who fled the Nazi tyranny, Peter Layton lives and works in England. A major figure in the glassblowing field and one of the first to have opened a hot-glass studio in Europe. He trained at the Central School of Art and Design in Ceramics during the sixties when he discovered the beauty and possibilities of hot glass during a teaching spell at The University of Iowa in the USA. Within a few years he had helped to create the association British Artists in Glass and founded the London Glassblowing Workshop.

Since 1995 it has been located in the Leather Market near London Bridge, and has just moved to Bermondsey Street, a trendy area of the East End of London. His expertise in the field now means that he uses blown work as well as float glass which he treats with sophisticated modular techniques to create large architectural pieces.

In 1988, he astonished an international body of experts at the world renowned Glass Symposium Interglas at Novy Bor in Tchekoslovakia by presenting a two-metre high moulded glass pyramid, a feat he repeated with his Endless Column for Le Verre International an exhibition in Rouen in 1992.

Despite this interest in the monumental pieces distract him from making smaller more intimate pieces often inspired by nature.

Exhibition runs from 18th November to 18th December 2009
Monday to Friday from 2 to 6 PM
Mornings and week-end by appointment