The Yorkshire Post - Lifelong friend David Hockney
Peter Layton remembers his lifelong friend David Hockney
1955, Peter Layton, David Johnson and David Hockney in Edinburgh
Following the death of David Hockney, The Yorkshire Post spoke to our founder Peter Layton about a friendship that began in Bradford in the 1950s and continued for over seventy years. The pair, both raised in the city, met again as young men in London and stayed in touch ever since, with Peter recalling the warmth and ambition that marked Hockney even as a teenager. Peter, who recently appeared on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, said he hopes a memorial service will be held for his friend, and that London should have one too.
Our Stories
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
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.