Nationality: English

Born in 1965, William Peers apprenticed himself to a stone-carver shortly after leaving Falmouth Art College. With him, he was urged to work slowly, entirely by hand rather than with machine tools. At first his work was largely figurative and he pursued a path similar to earlier direct carvers, chief amongst them Eric Gill, but gradually his work became more and more abstract.

Unusually for an abstract sculptor, Peers's work is wall hung. Hanging flat against the wall, one is made to view his work from one angle rather than from all sides and, naturally, this lends a greater emphasis to the surface of the stone and to the delicate chisel-work rather than the overall shape.

Now living and working in Cornwall, many of the sculptures are given the names of places near his home such as Oldiscleve, Gauter Point, Bradavin and, looking at the softly rolling contours of the carvings, it is tempting to see his work describing the countryside like some aerial relief map. As such he shares the same deep feeling for the Cornish landscape that Peter Lanyon, himself a keen glider pilot, conveyed in his paintings. The rolling hills and streams of the Cornish landscape lie at the root of all his recent work and the small chips left by the chisel are like tiny footprints mapping out this terrain.


Solo Exhibitions:

1993		Exhibition of carvings in Gigondas, France
1995		Exhibition of prints & interior form sculptures, Hyde Park Gallery, London
1996		Exhibition of carvings, John Martin of London
2002		Wall carvings, John Martin of London
2002		William Peers - Stone Carvings, International Art & Design Fair, New York
2003		Stone Carvings, John Martin Chelsea

Group Exhibitions:

1992		Exhibited works for Oxford 'Art Week'
1994		Joint family exhibition, Hereford
2000		Contemporary Sculptors, Gainsborough House, Suffolk
		New Artists 1998, Group Show, John Martin of London
		Eight carvings, Summer Exhibition, John Martin of London
2001		Art 2001, Business Design Centre with John Martin