Cobalt Wedge 1970

Peter Alexander made 'Cobalt Wedge' from cast resin, and what strikes me is the way he coaxes light into solid form. The colour shifts like a mood, deepening from almost clear at the top to a rich, contemplative blue at the base. It’s not paint, but there is something painterly about the way it seems to capture and hold light within its form. The surface is so smooth, so reflective, it feels less like an object and more like a column of pure atmosphere. Think about the monochrome works of Yves Klein and you get some sense of the territory that Alexander is working in. Both artists are interested in the spiritual potential of pure colour, but while Klein’s paintings are about surface, Alexander’s sculpture is about interiority, about the way that colour can shape and define space. It’s a quiet piece, but full of subtle beauty.