Surf's up: Peter Alexander’s water-inspired resin sculptures hit LA

At Parrasch Heijnen Gallery in LA this past Saturday, more than a few visitors craned their necks to look behind Peter Alexander’s resin sculptures, as if they were trying to figure out exactly where the stillness of light was coming from. There were tall wedges that rose from dark, solid bases into light, barely-there slivers and trapezoids in which the colour ranged from nearly transparent to inky in hue, all capturing the essence of that hazy, southern Californian amalgamation of sun, water and sky.
The works in this retrospective are made of dyed resin, but their thrall originates from the immersive experience of surfing. Alexander began working with polyester resin, he says, when he noticed the clarity of the material while using it to glaze his surfboard as a young man. His early cube-shaped works, like the stunning Small Cloud Box (1966), are smooth on the surface, but dynamic and sometimes turbulent on the interior, encapsulating the feeling of looking out into the ocean and moving through the water. Trained as an architect, Alexander explains, 'The boxes I did in the 1960s were rooms. They were watery rooms that I would like to swim around in. That’s how I saw them.'
Alexander no longer surfs, and began working with the less-toxic urethane resin, instead of polyester resin, in 2005. The resulting sculptures, like 9/7/15 Big Red Puff (2015), a fiery red panel, are bolder in colour but more opaque than earlier works, emitting a deeper, quieter energy. Calmer, and more settled, but no less evocative.
The works are inspired by the artist's experiences of surfing in his youth; the earlier works are made of dyed resin, used in surfboard glazing
The objects vary in size and shape: from tall wedges that rise from dark, solid bases into light, barely-there slivers. Pictured: Pink Blue Cube, 1967
Pictured left: 4/13/16 (Clear Leaner), 2016. Right: Orange Wedge, 1970
Colours range from nearly transparent to inky in hue, all capturing the essence of that hazy, southern Californian amalgamation of sun, water and sky
Alexander no longer surfs. He's also began working with the less-toxic urethane resin, instead of polyester resin, in 2005. Pictured: 9/7/15 Big Red Puff, 2015
INFORMATION
'Peter Alexander. Sculpture 1966–2016: A Career Survey' is on view until 2 September. For more information, visit the Parrasch Heijnen Gallery website
Photography courtesy Parrasch Heijnen
ADDRESS
Parrasch Heijnen Gallery
1326 S Boyle Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90023
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
All-In is the Paris-based label making full-force fashion for main character dressing
Part of our monthly Uprising series, Wallpaper* meets Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø of All-In, the LVMH Prize-nominated label which bases its collections on a riotous cast of characters – real and imagined
By Orla Brennan
-
Maserati joins forces with Giorgetti for a turbo-charged relationship
Announcing their marriage during Milan Design Week, the brands unveiled a collection, a car and a long term commitment
By Hugo Macdonald
-
Through an innovative new training program, Poltrona Frau aims to safeguard Italian craft
The heritage furniture manufacturer is training a new generation of leather artisans
By Cristina Kiran Piotti
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the church
The American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
By Orla Brennan
-
Unlike the gloriously grotesque imagery in his films, Yorgos Lanthimos’ photographs are quietly beautiful
An exhibition at Webber Gallery in Los Angeles presents Yorgos Lanthimos’ photography
By Katie Tobin
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella Valley
Will Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
By Will Jennings
-
Cowboys and Queens: Jane Hilton's celebration of culture on the fringes
Photographer Jane Hilton captures cowboy and drag queen culture for a new exhibition and book
By Hannah Silver
-
New gallery Rajiv Menon Contemporary brings contemporary South Asian and diasporic art to Los Angeles
'Exhibitionism', the inaugural showcase at Rajiv Menon Contemporary gallery in Hollywood, examines the boundaries of intimacy
By Aastha D
-
Helmut Lang showcases his provocative sculptures in a modernist Los Angeles home
‘Helmut Lang: What remains behind’ sees the artist and former fashion designer open a new show of works at MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House
By Francesca Perry
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any other
Gia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
By Billie Walker
-
‘American Photography’: centuries-spanning show reveals timely truths
At the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Europe’s first major survey of American photography reveals the contradictions and complexities that have long defined this world superpower
By Daisy Woodward