Albert Thiry

A ceramist from Nice, he studied at the city’s Ecole des Arts Décoratifs. In 1943, he and his wife Pyot Gavaudan settled in the potters’ village of Vallauris. There, he continued his training as a ceramist in various workshops, notably that of Charles Voltz (1923-1997). In 1956, he joined Claire and René Batigne, who had been running the Tapis Vert workshop since 1950, as a decorator. There he rubbed shoulders with Marcel Vertès and Anton Prinner, who introduced him to sculpture. He set up on his own in 1962, joined by his wife, Pyot Gavaudan, who had been a model-maker and decorator at the Giraud workshop since 1956.

Together, they produced two types of work: one linked to the decorative arts (tableware and lighting) and the other purely sculptural (dreamlike characters and animals). They perfected a technique of intaglio engraving and decoration in chamotte clay. From 1966 to 1974, Albert Thiry took part in the Vallauris Biennials, receiving an honorary diploma in 1971.