Peter Shire

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. 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, he began producing glass and metal objects, as well as furniture. Many of his works were made for the Milan-based design firm, the Memphis Group. The artist has also completed paintings on tiles which function as portraits of homage to the town in which he grew up in, Echo Park in Los Angeles, CA. Today he continues to live and produce work in Los Angeles, meanwhile his artworks are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and more.