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Peter Alexander Art

American, 1939-2020

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.

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Artist: Peter Alexander
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...
Category

1980s Pop Art Peter Alexander Art

Materials

Lithograph

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...
Category

1980s Pop Art Peter Alexander Art

Materials

Lithograph

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...
Category

1980s Pop Art Peter Alexander Art

Materials

Lithograph

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...
Category

1980s Pop Art Peter Alexander Art

Materials

Lithograph

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Previously Available Items
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 ...
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1980s Pop Art Peter Alexander Art

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Monotype

Los Angeles Modernist Light & Space Artist Peter Alexander Lithograph Locust
By Peter Alexander, 1939
Located in Surfside, FL
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1990s Post-Modern Peter Alexander Art

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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...
Category

1980s Pop Art Peter Alexander Art

Materials

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...
Category

1980s Pop Art Peter Alexander Art

Materials

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...
Category

1980s Pop Art Peter Alexander Art

Materials

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...
Category

1980s Pop Art Peter Alexander Art

Materials

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...
Category

1980s Pop Art Peter Alexander Art

Materials

Lithograph

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...
Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Peter Alexander Art

Materials

Lithograph

Peter Alexander art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Peter Alexander art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Peter Alexander in lithograph, archival paper, monoprint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Pop Art style. Not every interior allows for large Peter Alexander art, so small editions measuring 30 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Patrick Nagel, Tie Feng Jiang, and Joan Melnick. Peter Alexander art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,000 and tops out at $8,400, while the average work can sell for $2,800.

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