Gilbert Portanier

After studying architecture at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris from 1945 to 1948, Gilbert Portanier took up painting and drawing, followed by ceramics and sculpture.
In 1948, he moved to Vallauris and met Picasso, who inspired his interest in ceramics.
In 1949, together with Albert Diato and Francine Del Pierre, he founded the Triptyque pottery. The venture lasted a year and a half, Gilbert staying permanently in Vallauris while Albert and Francine returned to Paris.
In 1953, with his wife Annette, Gilbert Portanier set up his own studio-gallery in a former Vallauris factory, where he worked until the end of his life.