A bit of surfboard wax, a small Dixie cup and the sun sparked an epiphany for artist Peter Alexander and began his rise through the Light and Space movement of the 1960s. After seeing wax dry into a translucent block, Alexander chose resin as his signature medium and created sculptures that appear to be constructed out of light itself.
Alexander was born in 1939 in Los Angeles. By 1966, he had studied under Estonian-born American architect Louis Kahn at the University of Pennsylvania and transferred to several universities before graduating with a bachelor’s and master's degree in fine art from UCLA. He explored the possibilities of resin throughout the 1960s. Many of his resin sculptures are monolithic and contemplative, with a mysterious air, as seen in his Cloud Boxes, which seem to trap miniature clouds within blocks.
Like his Light and Space contemporaries James Turrell, Larry Bell, Mary Corse and DeWain Valentine, Alexander wished to capture light in the form of an artistic environment. After exhibiting at Nicholas Wilder Gallery in Los Angeles and the Robert Elkon Gallery in New York, Alexander turned to painting, drawing, lithography and polaroid photography as new ways to explore the effects of light. In his sculptures, the color changed in tone and intensity based on the light source and the position of the viewer. In his later work, Alexander’s curiosity about color informed much of his art, which combined light and hues to elicit various emotions.
He died in 2020 at the age of 81. Alexander’s art has appeared in films including Erin Brockovich, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Shopgirl. The Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the San Diego Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Centre Pompidou in Paris have all exhibited his work.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Peter Alexander’s prints and multiples.
Untitled (Radiating Green Square Wall Relief), 2013
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created in 2013, this wall-mounted urethane relief exemplifies Peter Alexander's enduring exploration of light, color, and perception. A leading figure of California's Light and Spac...
Resin, Polyester
Untitled (Yellow Polyester Resin Leaner), Circa 1965–1972
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created during Peter Alexander's pioneering exploration of cast polyester resin in the late 1960s and early 1970s, this Leaner exemplifies the body of work that established him as a ...
Resin, Polyester
$125,000
Untitled (Yellow/Amber Rectangular Box with Suspended Disc), 1968
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created in 1968, this cast polyester resin sculpture belongs to Peter Alexander's groundbreaking early body of work that helped define California's Light and Space movement. Drawn to...
Resin, Polyester
Untitled (Tall Black/Amber Polyester Resin Wedge), 1968
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created in 1968, this monumental cast polyester resin sculpture belongs to Peter Alexander's earliest and most celebrated body of work, produced during the formative years of Califor...
Resin, Polyester
$10,000Sale Price|20% Off
Hallelujah II, Peter Alexander
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Alexander (1939) Title: Hallelujah II Year: 1988 Edition: 50, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Guarro paper Size: 22 x 30 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Sign...
Lithograph
9/8/13 (Aqua Waterfall)
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Among the pioneering California-based Light and Space artists, Peter Alexander has spent the course of his career focusing intensely on light and its manifold effects in his sculptur...
Polyurethane
Untitled (Aqua Urethane Pyramid), 2012
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created in 2012, this urethane pyramid reflects Peter Alexander's continued exploration of light, color, and perception following his return to sculpture in the early twenty-first ce...
Polyurethane
Untitled (White Urethane Pyramid), Circa 2006-2020
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created after Peter Alexander's return to sculpture in the 2000s, this intimate urethane pyramid distills the artist's lifelong investigation of geometry, light, and perception into ...
Resin, Polyester
Untitled (Black Urethane Wedge), circa 2006–2020
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created during Peter Alexander's return to sculpture in 2006, this urethane wedge reflects the renewed exploration of light, color, and perception that defined the final chapter of h...
Polyurethane
Untitled (Aqua Blue Urethane Wedge), circa 2006–2020
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created during Peter Alexander's return to sculpture in 2006, this urethane wedge reflects the renewed exploration of light, color, and perception that defined the final chapter of h...
Polyurethane
Untitled (Pink Vapor Wedge), 1967
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created in 1967, this cast polyester resin sculpture demonstrates Peter Alexander's early mastery of geometry as a vehicle for exploring light, color, and perception. During this for...
Resin, Polyester
Untitled (Black Polyester Resin Cube with Blue Green Rim), 1971
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created in 1971, this cast polyester resin cube exemplifies Peter Alexander's pioneering use of industrial materials to investigate light, color, and perception. A leading figure of ...
Resin, Polyester
Untitled (Radiating Pink Square Urethane Relief), 2013
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created in 2013, this wall-mounted urethane relief reflects Peter Alexander's continued exploration of light as both material and subject. Suspended approximately two inches from the...
Resin, Polyester
$125,000
Window (Clear Polyester Resin Vapor Wedge with Yellow Tint), 1966
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created in 1966, this cast polyester resin sculpture dates to the earliest years of Peter Alexander's pioneering experimentation with industrial resin, a material that would become s...
Resin, Polyester
$2,800Sale Price|20% Off
San Blas II, Peter Alexander
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Alexander (1939) Title: San Blas II Year: 1988 Edition: 75, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Guarro paper Size: 22 x 30 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Signed...
Lithograph
$2,800Sale Price|20% Off
Sitka, Peter Alexander
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Alexander (1939) Title: Sitka Year: 1988 Edition: 75, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Guarro paper Size: 22 x 30 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Signed and n...
Lithograph
$2,800Sale Price|20% Off
San Blas IV, Peter Alexander
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Alexander (1939) Title: San Blas IV Year: 1988 Edition: 75, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Guarro paper Size: 22 x 30 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Signed...
Lithograph
Surge
By Bill Thompson
Located in Westport, CT
This beautiful minimalist sculptural work explores the evocative power monochrome color. Originally working as a painter, Thompson focused on Minimalism. In his sculptural work, mono...
Polyurethane
$2,800
H 25.5 in W 19.8 in
Salvador Dalí Whoever Takes Carmen (Salvador Dalí prints Salvador Dalí Carmen)
By Salvador Dalí
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Salvador Dalí Whoever Takes Carmen Away Must Pay with His Life 1970 (from Carmen): Lithograph in colors on Arches paper. 25.5 x 19.8 inches (64.8 x 50.5 cm). Good overall vintage ...
Paper, Lithograph
$95
H 7.88 in W 5.12 in D 2.37 in
Just the Two of Us Palm Wax Candle, Sculptural Design, 20 cm Tall
Located in Vilnius, Vilniaus apskr.
"Just the Two of Us" Palm Wax Candle This artsy candle Just the Two of Us is created in the shape of a ceramic sculpture by Ukrainian artist Sofia Horbachevska. The set includes wo...
Wax
$125
H 40 in W 25.5 in
Christo - The Wrapped Reichstag at Night, offset lithograph poster, plate signed
By Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Located in New York, NY
Christo The Wrapped Reichstag at Night, 1993 Offset Lithograph Plate signed (printed signature) by Christo on lower right front 40 × 25 1/2 inches Unframed and affixed to matting (a...
Lithograph, Offset
Don Frost, BM, Sculpture, 2018
By Don Frost
Located in Greenwich, CT
BM Fiberglass / Carbon Fibre impregnated with catalysed polyester resin Powder filled acrylic lacquer on filled polyester resin base 27" x 10" x 11" "I am an artist, a sculptor not ...
Resin, Fiberglass, Polyester, Lacquer
$8,800
H 22.5 in W 18 in
Historic rare Ed Ruscha Leo Castelli Gallery exhibition offset lithograph poster
By Ed Ruscha
Located in New York, NY
Edward Ruscha: New Paintings, Leo Castelli Gallery, 1980 Offset lithograph poster 22.5 x 18 inches Unframed Published by Leo Castelli Gallery Good vintage condition with some handli...
Lithograph, Offset
$600
H 31 in W 23.25 in
Italian Post Modern Pop Art Lithograph Vintage Poster Memphis Galerie Maeght
By Valerio Adami
Located in Surfside, FL
Vintage gallery exhibition poster. Bright vivid red and bold yellow. The Galerie Maeght is a gallery of modern art in Paris, France, and Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The gallery was...
Lithograph, Offset
$1,000
H 20 in W 27.5 in
Wrapped Trees, Switzerland poster (Hand Signed by Christo and Jeanne-Claude)
By Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Located in New York, NY
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Christo, Javacheff Christo Wrapped Trees, Switzerland (Hand Signed by Christo and Jeanne-Claude), 1998 Offset lithograph poster (Hand Signed) Signed Christ...
Lithograph, Offset
Lunar Landscape Abstract Signed Numbered Screenprint Yellow
By Len Gittleman
Located in Surfside, FL
Handsigned edition of 250. Gittleman’s Lunar Transformation is a series of ten vividly colored serigraphs created from black and white photographs taken during the Apollo 15 mission ...
Screen
$4,500
H 38 in W 22 in
Fagends Carved in Rock, De-Accessioned from the Denver Art Museum Signed/N
By Claes Oldenburg
Located in New York, NY
Claes Oldenburg Fagends Carved in Rock, De-Accessioned from the Denver Art Museum (137, Axsom and Platzker), 1975 Offset Lithograph. Hand signed and ...
Graphite, Lithograph, Offset
$1,000
H 22.5 in W 30 in
The MCA Wrapped, 1969, Lithograph, Lt. Ed 300, gold foil stamp Museum provenance
By Christo
Located in New York, NY
Christo The MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) Wrapped, Chicago, 1969, 2019 Limited Edition Four-color offset lithograph on 110 lb. Crane Lettra Cover stock, with an elegant gold foil...
Foil
Mini Drip #207
By Dan Lam
Located in Dallas, TX
1.75 x 3.75 x 2 Mixed Media 2023 Each mini is a unique and original artwork. Biomorphic sculpture that draws you to play with it.
Resin, Foam, Polyurethane
Hallelujah II, Peter Alexander
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Alexander (1939) Title: Hallelujah II Year: 1988 Edition: 50, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Guarro paper Size: 22 x 30 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Sign...
Lithograph
Untitled, Peter Alexander
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Alexander (1939) Title: Untitled Year: 1989 Edition: 1/1 Medium: Monotype on Guarro paper Size: 30.25 x 33 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Signed and dated by ...
Monotype
Sold
H 30 in W 31 in
Los Angeles Modernist Light & Space Artist Peter Alexander Lithograph Locust
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Surfside, FL
LOCUST, 1992 lithograph on heavy black paper, hand signed with initials of artist/numbered/dated in gold metallic ink recto 30 X 31 inches Limited edition of 100 Peter Alexander was born in Los Angeles, California in 1939 the fourth generation of a well-to-do Southern California family that ran oil fields. He grew up in Newport Beach, where the sun and the ocean were staples. (He was surfing by the age of 13.) One of the most lasting memories of his youth was watching a meteor shower over the beach. He studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania under famed architect Louis Kahn (1957–60); During summers, he produced architectural drawings in the Los Angeles studio of the Modernist Richard Neutra. He continued his studies at the Architectural Association in London, England (1960–62); the University of California, Berkeley (1962–1963); the University of Southern California (1963–64); and the University of California, Los Angeles (1964–65) and (1965–66). After initially working as an architect, he rose to prominence in the 1960s with translucent resin sculptures. He has also produced paintings, including a series that depicts luminous aerial views of the city lights stretching across the Los Angeles basin. He also was commissioned to paint a large mural for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. His art has appeared in the films Erin Brockovich, Terminator 3 and Shopgirl. Craig Krull Gallery exhibited a survey of Alexander's work, including paintings and sculptures from 1970 - 2009 in conjunction with Pacific Standard Time. Alexander will be exhibited in Pacific Standard Time museum shows as well, including “Civic Virtue: The Impact of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery and the Watts Towers Arts Center” organized by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, “Phenomenal: California Light and Space” at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and “Pacific Standard Time: Crosscurrents in L.A. Paintings and Sculpture 1945-1970” at the The J. Paul Getty Museum His work bears a relationship to the Light & Space Movement and Minimalism artists James Turrell, Larry Bell, Robert Irwin, Craig Kauffman, Billy Al Bengston, Joe Novak, Laddie John Dill, Lita Albuquerque. His experiments with industrial materials, begun when he was a student at UCLA, led to the creation of ethereal sculptures...
Lithograph
Gardena
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Alexander (1939) Title: Gardena Year: 1988 Edition: 50, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Guarro paper Size: 22 x 30 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Signed and...
Lithograph
Hallelujah II
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Alexander (1939) Title: Hallelujah II Year: 1988 Edition: 50, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Guarro paper Size: 22 x 30 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Sign...
Lithograph
Hallelujah II
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Alexander (1939) Title: Hallelujah II Year: 1988 Edition: 50, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Size: 35.5 x 23 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Si...
Lithograph
Hallelujah II
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Alexander (1939) Title: Hallelujah II Year: 1988 Edition: 50, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Size: 35.5 x 23 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Si...
Lithograph
Hallelujah II
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Alexander (1939) Title: Hallelujah II Year: 1988 Edition: 50, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Size: 35.5 x 23 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Si...
Lithograph
Sold
H 22 in W 30 in
Peter Alexander "Sitka" Signed Limited Edition Lithograph
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in San Rafael, CA
Peter Alexander (American, b. 1939) Sitka (from the Portfolio 'In Barcelona' 1988-89) Limited Edition Lithograph On Guarro paper and published by Poligrafa, Barcelona Spain Signed in...
Lithograph
Untitled
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Among the pioneering California-based Light and Space artists, Peter Alexander has spent the course of his career focusing intensely on light and its manifold effects in his sculptur...
Resin
Sunset (April 27, 73)
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Among the pioneering California-based Light and Space artists, Peter Alexander has spent the course of his career focusing intensely on light and its manifold effects in his sculptur...
Paper, Pastel
Untitled
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Among the pioneering California-based Light and Space artists, Peter Alexander has spent the course of his career focusing intensely on light and its manifold effects in his sculptur...
Resin