Peter Shire

(American, born 1947)

Peter Shire is an American ceramic artist and designer known for his unique, pastel colored mugs, teapots, and furniture. “What I strive for in my work—and this is an ongoing thing, and that is the key element of making a pot is, a volume,” he has explained. Born in 1947 in Los Angeles, CA, he studied ceramics at the Chouinard Institute before starting his own studio in 1972. Inspired by the Bauhaus, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco movements, Shire’s work bridges the gap between fine art and industrial design. In the 1980s, began producing glass and metal objects, as well as furniture, such as his Brazil table (1981) and Bel Air armchair (1982). These works and others were made for Ettore Sottsass’s Milan-based design firm the Memphis Group, after Shire had attracted the attention of Sottsass with ceramics. In addition to these designs, the artist has also completed paintings on tiles which function as portraits of the Echo Park neighborhood in Los Angeles where he grew up. He continues to live and work in Los Angeles, CA. Today, Shire’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, among others.