Peter Laszlo Peri
Encyclopedia
Peter Laszlo Peri was an artist and sculptor.
, Hungary
. Antisemitism caused his family to change their name to the more Hungarian "Péri". When he moved to Germany, he was known as Laszlo Péri. After he moved to England, he adopted the name "Peter Peri". His grandson, born in 1971, an artist, also has the name Peter Peri
.
group of artists and in 1922, exhibited Constructivist
sculpture in a joint show with Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
. He worked in an architectural office from 1924 to 1927, with a view to qualifying as an architect. He returned to sculpture in 1928, but in a realist style.
In 1935, he and his wife moved to Hampstead
in London. In 1939, he became a British citizen and took the name "Peter Peri". He made etchings and continued to work in sculpture, producing groups of small figures, usually engaged in co-operative ventures. Many public buildings were adorned with his work. When the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum opened in 1960, Peri was commissioned to "represent the life and activities [of Coventry
] in modern terms and materials"; the work is known simply as The Coventry sculpture
Peri joined the Quaker faith and produced a small bronze sculpture of a Quaker Meeting, much loved by the students of Woodbrooke Study Centre , Birmingham
, where it is now located .
He died January 19, 1967.
Name changes
Ladislas Weisz was born June 13, 1899 in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. Antisemitism caused his family to change their name to the more Hungarian "Péri". When he moved to Germany, he was known as Laszlo Péri. After he moved to England, he adopted the name "Peter Peri". His grandson, born in 1971, an artist, also has the name Peter Peri
Peter Peri
Peter Peri is an artist living and working in London.Peri was born in London. He studied at Chelsea College of Art, London and graduated from the MA programme in 2003. He made his debut in 2003 at Bloomberg New Contemporaries. His most recent solo show was at Almine Rech Gallery, Paris in May 2011...
.
Career
In Berlin, he joined the Der SturmDer Sturm
Der Sturm was a magazine covering the expressionism movement founded in Berlin in 1910 by Herwarth Walden. It ran weekly until monthly in 1914, and became a quarterly in 1924 until it ceased publication in 1932....
group of artists and in 1922, exhibited Constructivist
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
sculpture in a joint show with Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts.-Early life:...
. He worked in an architectural office from 1924 to 1927, with a view to qualifying as an architect. He returned to sculpture in 1928, but in a realist style.
In 1935, he and his wife moved to Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
in London. In 1939, he became a British citizen and took the name "Peter Peri". He made etchings and continued to work in sculpture, producing groups of small figures, usually engaged in co-operative ventures. Many public buildings were adorned with his work. When the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum opened in 1960, Peri was commissioned to "represent the life and activities [of Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
] in modern terms and materials"; the work is known simply as The Coventry sculpture
Peri joined the Quaker faith and produced a small bronze sculpture of a Quaker Meeting, much loved by the students of Woodbrooke Study Centre , Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, where it is now located .
He died January 19, 1967.
Major works after 1945
- Source: Exhibition catalogue, 1967 .
- Ministry of informationMinister of InformationThe Ministry of Information , headed by the Minister of Information, was a United Kingdom government department created briefly at the end of World War I and again during World War II...
- 1946 Displaced personDisplaced personA displaced person is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place, a phenomenon known as forced migration.- Origin of term :...
s. Concrete.
- 1946 Displaced person
- London County CouncilLondon County CouncilLondon County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
. For Lambeth- 1948 Children playing.
- 1949 Footballers.
- 1950 Following the leader.
- Festival of BritainFestival of BritainThe Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
- 1951 Sunbathing horizontal-group.
- LeicestershireLeicestershire County CouncilLeicestershire County Council is the county council for the English non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888. The county is divided into 52 electoral divisions, which return a total of 55 councillors. The council is controlled by...
- 1955 OadbyOadbyOadby is a town within the borough of Oadby and Wigston, in Leicestershire, England. It is to the east of Wigston Magna, and to the southeast of Leicester. Oadby forms part of the Leicester Urban Area, and is situated on the A6 road....
Primary School. Three coloured reliefs. - 1956 ScraptoftScraptoftScraptoft is a village in Leicestershire, England that is effectively a suburb of Leicester. It has a population of about 1,500. It lies north of the A47 road east of Leicester, and runs directly into the built up area of Thurnby and Bushby to the south...
South Primary School. Horizontal concrete group. - 1956 Scraptoft North Primary School. Folk dancing, coloured concrete relief.
- 1956 Earl ShiltonEarl ShiltonEarl Shilton is a small town in Leicestershire, England, some from Hinckley and about 10 miles from Leicester, with a population of around 9,000 .-History:...
Grammar School. Three dimensional sculpture. - 1957 Wigston Secondary Modern School. The living Christ.
- 1957 Castle DoningtonCastle DoningtonCastle Donington is a village, with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, part of the Derby postcode area and on the edge of the National Forest. It is the closest town to East Midlands Airport.-Transport and housing:...
Secondary Modern School. The boy with the book and the globe. Horizontal. - 1958 Longslade Grammar SchoolLongslade Community CollegeLongslade Community College is a comprehensive school and Specialist Technology College in Birstall, a suburban village directly outside of Leicester city.-Admissions:...
. The mastery of atom = self mastery. Horizontal . - 1959 Loughborough College of Technology. Diagonal concrete sculpture.
- 1959 HinckleyHinckleyHinckley is a town in southwest Leicestershire, England. It has a population of 43,246 . It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council...
College for further education. Cut out concrete relief.
- 1955 Oadby
- Warwickshire
- 1957 WillenhallWillenhallWillenhall is a town in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire...
Primary School. Three dimensional sculpture. - 1958 CoventryCoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
. St. Michael Primary School. Coloured concrete relief. - 1965 Ernesford GrangeErnesford GrangeErnesford Grange is a suburb of Coventry, West Midlands. It is in the southeast of the city and borders the Binley, Stoke Aldermoor and Willenhall areas. It is part of the Coventry South Constituency....
Junior School, Coventry. Sculpture and relief. Polyester [There is a full page illustration of this work, with the sculptor alongside in the Exhibition catalogue referred to, on page 6. The figures represent a flautist and a singer.] .
- 1957 Willenhall
- 1959 Exeter University. Diagonal sculpture .
- 1961 HuddersfieldHuddersfieldHuddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
High School for Girls. Horizontal sculpture and a relief. - 1961 Scott Bader CommonwealthErnest BaderErnest Bader and his wife, Dora Scott, founded a chemical company, Scott Bader, and gave it to the employees, under terms of Common ownership, forming the Scott Bader Commonwealth, in 1951....
, Wollaston, NorthamptonshireWollaston, NorthamptonshireWollaston is a large village in the borough of Wellingborough. in Eastern Northamptonshire, England. The name is derived from the Saxon "Wulfaf's Town" - named after a Saxon chief of that name.-Wollaston Today:...
. The man in Polyester. Horizontal. - 1961 Forest GateForest GateForest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham, 7 miles northeast of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Manor Park to the east and and to the west lies Stratford town centre. The northern half of the busy Green Street runs through it.-History:...
Methodist Church, London, E.7. The preacher. Diagonal sculpture. - 1963 East HamEast HamEast Ham is a suburban district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Newham. It is a built-up district located 8 miles east-northeast of Charing Cross...
, E.6. Kensington Youth Club. Diagonal sculpture. - 1964 Long EatonLong EatonLong Eaton is a town in Derbyshire, England. It lies just north of the River Trent about southwest of Nottingham and is part of the Nottingham Urban Area...
Secondary Modern. Three dimensional sculpture.
Works in permanent collections
- 1938 Tate GalleryTate GalleryThe Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
. Bronze horse. - 1960 The Coventry sculpture. Herbert Art Gallery and MuseumHerbert Art Gallery and MuseumHerbert Art Gallery & Museum is a museum, art gallery, records archive, learning centre and creative arts facility on Jordan Well, Coventry, United Kingdom....
, Coventry . - 1947 Hungarian National Gallery. Budapest. Etchings .
- 1956 Museum of Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. Etchings. - 1950 British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. Gulliver's TravelsGulliver's TravelsTravels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
. Etchings. - 1964 British Museum. The Pilgrim's Progress. Etchings.
- 1965 U.S.A. Earlham CollegeEarlham CollegeEarlham College is a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. It was founded in 1847 by Quakers and has approximately 1,200 students.The president is John David Dawson...
, Richmond, Indiana. The Pilgrim's Progress. - DerbyshireDerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
Education Committee.- Sculpture and The Pilgrim's Progress Etchings.
- Leicestershire Education Committee. Sculptures.
- Camden London Borough CouncilCamden London Borough CouncilCamden London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London...
. Sculptures. - The Arts CouncilArts councilAn arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...
. Etching.
Exhibitions
- 1922 Constructivism Berlin
- 1931 Ernst Museum Budapest .
- 1933 Bloomsbury Galleries London
- 1936 From Constructivism to Realism Foyle Art Gallery
- 1937 Gordon Fraser's Gallery Cambridge
- 1938 London Life in Concrete Soho Square, London
- 1948 People by Peri A.I.A.Artists' International AssociationThe Artists International Association or AIA was an organization founded in London in 1933 out of discussion amongst Pearl Binder, Clifford Rowe, Misha Black, James Fitton, James Boswell, James Holland and Edward Ardizzone, the first meeting took place in Misha Black’s room at the Seven...
Gallery, London - 1952 Sculpture in Relation to Architecture A.A.Architectural Association School of ArchitectureThe Architectural Association School of Architecture, more usually known as the AA, is an architectural school in London, United Kingdom...
Bedford Square, London - 1953 Exhibition arranged by the Football Association sponsored by the Arts Council
- 1958 Pilgrim's Progress St George's Gallery, London
- 1960 Sculpture and Etchings Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry
- 1961 Trades Union's Festival Exhibition, Bethnal GreenBethnal GreenBethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
- 1963 St PancrasSt Pancras, LondonSt Pancras is an area of London. For many centuries the name has been used for various officially-designated areas, but now is used informally and rarely having been largely superseded by several other names for overlapping districts.-Ancient parish:...
Arts Festival - 1966 It's the People who Matter Lloyd's Gallery, WimbledonWimbledon, LondonWimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
- 1967 Avant-garde Osteuropa 1910-1930 Akademie der KünsteAkademie der KünsteThe Akademie der Künste, Berlin is an arts institution in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1696 by Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg as the Prussian Academy of Arts, an academic institution where members could meet and discuss and share ideas...
, Berlin. - 2008 Peter Peri Exhibition, Sam Scorer Gallery, Lincoln.
External links
- Permanent online exhibition at Sam Scorer Gallery
- Grove Art article Laszlo [Peter] Peri
- Chris Miller's "I Love Sculpture" website containing an illustration of Peri's sculpture "Sunbathing", with male and female figures horizontal to a wall, with an audience enjoying it. (Accessed 24 February 2008).
- Designing Britain article on the Festival of Britain
- Illustration - "Sunbathing": maquette in Leeds Museums & Galleries] (Accessed 24 February 2008).
- Art for Social Spaces article on Schools
- Illustration : "Two children calling a dog" , c. 1956, sculpture by Peter Peri, was commissioned for Scraptoft Willowbrook Infants School in Leicestershire. Current Repository: Public Monuments & Sculpture Association]. (Accessed 24 February 2008).
- Illustration 'Bank Holiday' (c. 1937) is one of a series of large coloured concrete wall reliefs made by Peter Peri in the 1930s. Current Repository Leeds Museums & Galleries] (Accessed 24 February 2008).
- Illustration: One of Peter Peri's three relief concrete panels of 'Children Playing', c. 1955, for Langmoor County Primary School in Oadby, Leicestershire. c1956 Current Repository Public Monuments & Sculpture Association.](Accessed 24 February 2008).
- Illustration: Peter Peri's 'horizontal-relief'in concrete - 'Man's Mastery of the Atom' - projects from the wall of Longslade Community College, Leicestershire, completed 1960. Current Repository Public Monuments & Sculpture Association]. (Accessed 24 February 2008).
- Illustration: Peter Peri's concrete 'horizontal-relief' - 'The Spirit of Technology' - juts out from the exterior wall of a building at Loughborough University. Current Repository Public Monuments & Sculpture Association]. (Accessed 24 February 2008).
- Illustration: Description In 1956, Peter Peri made 'Folk Dancing'- a yellow concrete relief - for the exterior wall of Scraptoft Valley Primary and Infants School, Nether Hall, Leicestershire. Another exterior relief - 'Jack and Jill' - and a relief for the interior of the school - 'Oranges and lemons' - were also commissioned in the early stages of the building project. Current Repository Public Monuments & Sculpture Association]. (Accessed 24 February 2008).
- VADS: Visual Arts Data Service
"Peri" - - "Figure of Evangelist" Date Completion 1961 Description Angular elongated figure in a short robe or dress, standing out from the church wall, to which it is attached by the feet. Its arms and legs are bent and the left hand holds a book aloft. Location Forest Gate, Greater London Measurements Dimensions Figure (410 cm high approx x 230 cm wide approx) Material Concrete
- "Figure" 1964 Description Figure of a man with right arm held high above his head. The man is leaning forward away from the supporting wall. Location East Ham, Greater London Measurements Dimensions Figure (330 cm high approx x 200 cm wide approx x 100 cm deep approx) Material Moulded concrete?
- "Relief of playing children - a memorial to the children who died in the blitz" on Darley House on a housing estate in Lambeth.Collection Courtauld Institute of Art
- "The Spirit of Technology" 1957 Description A male figure, naked but for a suggestion of drapery across his genitals, standing on the vertical surface of an exterior wall. His hands, raised above his head, hold a loop or coil suspended between them. Location Loughborough, Leicestershire Measurements Dimensions sculpture(h. 304 cm (est)) Material concrete
- "St Michael and Dancing Figures" c. 1956 Collection Public Sculpture of Leicestershire Description A large exterior wall relief by Peter Peri, 'St Michael and Dancing Figures, executed for a school in Coventry.