Peter Hayes (born 1946) is a contemporary

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

now based in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, whose work is displayed in public locations including the UK, US, Canada and Belgium.

Life and works

Hayes was born in Birmingham, England, where, aged 12, he was selected to attend the

Moseley School of Art The Moseley School of Art () on Moseley Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham, England was built as the first municipal branch School of Art in Birmingham. The Moseley School of Art was closed by the City of Birmingham Education Committee in 1976. The ...

. In 1961 he left to study at the Birmingham College of Art before travelling extensively in Africa. Over the course of several years, he worked as a ceramic artist with tribes and village potters who inspired him with the exquisite work they produced using very limited technology and tools. Moving on to India, Nepal, Japan, Korea and New Mexico, he found similar skills and adopted the techniques he learned. In 1982, Hayes came home and built a studio in a disused toll house on

Cleveland Bridge Cleveland Bridge over the River Avon is a Grade II* listed building in the World Heritage Site of Bath, England. It is notable for the unusual lodges that adorn each corner in a style that could be likened to miniature Greek temples. Locati ...

. His work now builds on the techniques and methods he learned during his travels to create ceramic art that is often inspired by memories of landscapes he has seen. The distinctive appearance of Peter Hayes’ ceramic works is partly a result of techniques such as Raku firing he employs but also reflects his habit of submerging pieces in the flowing river beside his studio, or sending them to

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

to be washed in the sea, for months at a time. The water washes minerals such as copper and metal oxides into the basic white clay with which Hayes works, creating a characteristic green-blue "blush" in his sculptures along with random elements that make every piece unique. The effect is to create objects that many feel look ancient and perhaps even a little alien. Hayes' work is generally finished by waxing and polishing.

Collections including sculpture by Peter Hayes

National Gallery of Scotland The National (formerly the Scottish National Gallery) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by William Henry Playfa ...

, Edinburgh * Museum of Modern Art, Kingston, Jamaica *

Gardiner Museum The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art (commonly shortened to the Gardiner Museum) is a ceramics museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is situated within University of Toronto's St. George campus, in downtown Toronto. The museum b ...

, Toronto, Canada * Museum of Modern Art, Brussels, Belgium * Silber Collection, California *

Speed Art Museum The Speed Art Museum, originally known as the J.B. Speed Memorial Museum, now colloquially referred to as the Speed by locals, is the oldest and largest art museum in Kentucky. It was established in 1927 in Louisville, Kentucky, on Third Street ...

, Louisville, Kentucky

Commissions visible in public

* Four Standing Stones -

Lansdowne House Lansdowne House, now 9 Fitzmaurice Place, is the remaining part of an aristocratic English town house building to the south of Berkeley Square in central London, England. The initial name was for two decades Shelburne House, then its title ...

, Berkeley Square, Stanhope Properties (1993) * Pylons -

Broadgate Broadgate is a large, office and retail estate in the Bishopsgate area of the City of London. It is owned by British Land and GIC (Singaporean sovereign wealth fund), GIC and managed by British Land. History The original developer was a joint ...

, London, Skidmore, Owings & Merril (1993) * Mounted Stones with Gold Circle - 100, Ludgate Hill, London, Skidmore, Owings & Merril (1994) * Four Figures - Taipai, Taiwan bank (1998)

Sources

New York Magazine - 23 Oct 1995 - Page 94

Working with clay - Susan Peterson, Jan Peterson - 2002 - Page 64

The craft and art of clay: a complete potter's handbook - Susan Peterson, Jan Peterson - 2003 - Page 322

External links

Peter Hayes official site
English sculptors English male sculptors 1946 births Living people {{UK-sculptor-stub