Gaffers and Protégés

11 September - 4 October


Spirale by Peter Layton (image by Alick Cotterill)

A gaffer leads the making at the furnace, the skilled hands around whom the whole team moves. A protégé is something broader: an artist whose career has been shaped, encouraged, and enabled by a mentor who saw their potential early. For Peter Layton, these two roles are inseparable from how he works and who he is.

The works that define London Glassblowing - Pointilist, Pink Tahiti, Spirale, and more - were brought to life through decades of collaboration with a remarkable group of British glass artists. Some came to Peter at the very start of their careers, others grew alongside him over the years that followed, and many have gone on to earn international recognition.

Roulette by Layne Rowe (image by Alick Cotterill)

This exhibition brought them together again. Louis Thompson and Bruce Marks, still at the heart of the studio after more than twenty years, returned to significant Peter Layton series, Louis on wall pieces and Bruce on painterly works. Elliot Walker and Layne Rowe, now working from their own studios, returned with work connected to their time collaborating with Peter. Tim Rawlinson and Anthony Scala, both given their first professional opportunity by Peter, presented works drawing on their skills in coldworking. James Devereux and Liam Reeves, the most recent collaborators, reflected the continually evolving nature of Peter's sculptural practice.

Polychromatic Interleave by Liam Reeves (image by Alick Cotterill)

Peter also personally selected favourite works from each artist's career to be revisited for this show - pieces that mark the full arc of fifty years of making glass together.

Exhibiting Artists: Peter Layton, Tim Rawlinson, Anthony Scala, Bruce Marks, Elliot Walker, James Devereux, Layne Rowe, Liam Reeves, Louis Thompson

Exhibiting Artists

Bruce Marks
Bruce Marks
Louis Thompson
Louis Thompson
Elliot Walker
Elliot Walker
Layne Rowe
Layne Rowe
Liam Reeves
Liam Reeves
James Devereux
James Devereux
Anthony Scala
Anthony Scala
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Our Stories

Women in Glass - Exhibition Open Call

Women in Glass - Exhibition Open Call

London Glassblowing invites applications from UK-based women working in glass to take part in Women in Glass, a group exhibition opening in September 2027 to coincide with the studio's celebration of Peter Layton's ninetieth birthday. We are pleased to welcome back Cathryn Shilling, London Glassblowing's gallery curator from 2010 to 2019, who returns as guest curator for this special exhibition.

A Bermondsey Street Collaboration

A Bermondsey Street Collaboration

Renowned glass artist and founder of London Glassblowing, Peter Layton, has collaborated with old friend and celebrity chef, José Pizarro, to create 30 limited-edition platters, launching on 12 October, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of José Pizarro on Bermondsey Street and the 50th anniversary of London Glassblowing.

The Alchemist at Work: An Interview with Peter Layton

The Alchemist at Work: An Interview with Peter Layton

For Peter Layton's solo exhibition, our Marketing and Sales Assistant Eva sat down with Peter to talk about alchemy - from his birth in Prague, a city steeped in alchemical history, to the alchemy he finds in glass itself. Read on to hear how Peter revisited his earlier works for this exhibition, and why he chose to return to the dangerous iridising process.