BEVERLY PEPPER

(AMERICAN, 1922-2020)

Alpha, 1974
steel
126 x 528 x 112 inches
Laumeier Sculpture Park Collection, gifted by Beverly Pepper Studio LLC

Covered in “construction zone” orange paint, Beverly Pepper’s Alpha, 1974, comprised of four triangular sheaths to form two pairs, produces both a simple and complex relationship simultaneously. According to Pepper, the pieces relate to each other in form but are incapable of merging. This tension is a common thread in Pepper’s sculptures, as she attempts to create “relationships that are very simple, yet at the same time are beyond the viewer’s grasp.” The interior of Alpha equals its exterior components, exposing the underlying structure upholding the piece and offering a unique perspective to the viewer.

Sculpture Interaction Guideline: Look, But Do Not Touch

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Beverly Pepper was born in Brooklyn in 1922 and began her career as an artist in an ad agency. She studied art and industrial design at Pratt Institute. Pepper is known for her welded steel sculptures in hollow, geometric shapes in which she utilizes box-like forms and paints inner surfaces in a single, bright color. She has built an international reputation with monumental sculptural constructions of welded steel, informed by both Constructivism and Minimalism. Pepper's work has been exhibited and collected by major museums and galleries throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The White House Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; and the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona.