Born in Brussels, Pierre Alechinsky is the last surviving member and one of the most important representatives of the European avant-garde group CoBrA. His works are characterized by expressive imagery, calligraphic elements, and a free, experimental approach. Inspired by Far Eastern art, he developed a distinctive technique using ink, acrylic, and graphic structures. Despite being 98 years old, Pierre Alechinsky is still artistically active, living and working in Bougival, France.
1927: Pierre Alechinsky is born on October 19 in Brussels.
1944: Studies book illustration and typography at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture et des Arts Décoratifs in Brussels.
1947: Member of the “Jeune Peinture Belge” group. Travels to Yugoslavia and Morocco.
1949: Joins the CoBrA group and designs the third issue of the CoBrA magazine and the poster for a festival of experimental and poetic film.
1950: Awarded the “Prix Jeune Peinture Belge.” Travels to Denmark and Sweden. Influenced by the semi-abstract expressionism of the CoBrA group, in particular by Asger Jorn. Inspired by Klee, Miró, Dubuffet, and Tachism. Creates gestural, spontaneous, colorful, and symbolic phantasmagorias of people, animals, mythical creatures, plants, landscapes, and word images.
1951: Dissolution of the group and move to Paris on a scholarship from the French government. Extensive work with etching. Increased focus on drawing and calligraphy. Even at this early stage, his work is characterized by graphic, ornamental elements. Production of ink drawings, black-and-white lithographs, and division of his pictures into main and secondary areas.
1952: Studies graphic techniques at Atelier 17 with British artist Stanley William Hayter.
1953: Member of the Salon d’Octobre committee.
1954: Acquaintance with Chinese-American painter and poet Walasse Ting. Ting inspires him to travel to the Far East.
1955: First trip to Japan. Began working with ink drawings on Japanese paper and refining his ornamental and graphic line work. Created the film “Calligraphie japonaise.”
1957: Awarded at the International Art Festival in Bergamo for his film about Japanese calligraphy. East Asian calligraphy influences his paintings. For the first time, ink drawings are produced on Chinese paper and mounted on canvas.
1958: Member of the board of the Salon de Mai in Paris.
1960: Awarded the Hallmark Prize in New York. Alechinsky sets up a studio with Reihoud in an old village school near Paris.
1961: First of many trips to the USA. His first solo exhibition is organized by Otto van de Loo in Munich.
1963: Moves to Bougival, France.
1964: Participates in documenta III in Kassel.
1965: Creates large-format paintings in acrylic, whose central motif is often surrounded by small-scale images and drawings. His style is characterized by bright areas of color and calm, generous shapes and lines. His drawings and prints tend to be more figurative. Travels to Mexico.
1966: Awarded the Triennale de la Gravure prize in Belgium.
1968: Awarded the Marzotto Prize in Italy.
1970: Creates his first work on old, previously written-on paper with an ink drawing in the center surrounded by colored drawings around the edges. Together with Christian Dotremont, he designs a series of logogram drawings. Paints the interior of an Air France aircraft.
1972: Together with Christian Dotremont, he designs the Belgian pavilion for the Venice Biennale.
1974: Decorates a service for the Sèvres porcelain factory on behalf of the French state.
1976: Receives the Andrew W. Mellon Prize for his entire oeuvre from the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Designs a large-format mural for the Brussels Metro with Christian Dotremont.
1977: Participates in documenta VI in Kassel.
1983: Alechinsky becomes professor and head of a painting class at the École Nationale Supérieure in Paris, where he teaches until 1987.
1984: Alechinsky is awarded the Grand Prix National des Arts in Paris.
1985: Wall design in the reception room of the Ministry of Culture in Paris.
1988: Trip to China. Awarded the Herbert Boeckl Prize in Salzburg.
1992: Design of the entrance area of the French Ministry of Education in Rue Grenelle, Paris.
1993: Appointed Knight of the Legion of Honor.
1994: Awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Brussels.
2007: The Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels organize a major retrospective for Pierre Alechinsky.
2018: Awarded the Japanese Praemium Imperiale prize for painting.
Pierre Alechinsky lives and works in Bougival.
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