Hyper Culture Collective - Molten Balance
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Peter Layton features in a wide-ranging interview with Hyper Culture Collective marking 50 years of London Glassblowing. From founding the studio in a 19th-century towage works beside the Thames at Rotherhithe in 1976 — when there was little or no market for studio glass in Britain — to the thriving Bermondsey Street gallery of today, Peter reflects on a journey he describes as "something of a triumph against the odds."
The conversation ranges across the magic and demands of the medium, the urgent need to preserve endangered handskills as university glass courses close, and why contemporary glass remains a golden opportunity for collectors, with extraordinary work still available at prices that would seem modest in painting or sculpture. Peter also looks ahead to the next chapter, as his protégé and son-in-law Tim Rawlinson and daughter Sophie Layton prepare to take up the reins.
"There is still so much to explore, and I am still finding new possibilities in this magical medium after all these years."
Our Stories
Women in Glass
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
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
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.