Pierre Alechinsky | |
|---|---|
_by_Erling_Mandelmann_-_2.jpg) Pierre Alechinsky (1965) | |
| Born | (1927-10-19)19 October 1927 (age 98) Schaerbeek, Belgium |
| Known for | Painting,Printmaking,Drawing |
Pierre Alechinsky (French pronunciation:[pjɛʁaleʃɛ̃ski]; born 19 October 1927) is a Belgian artist. He has lived and worked in France since 1951. His work is related totachisme,abstract expressionism, andlyrical abstraction.
Alechinsky was born inSchaerbeek, Belgium, to aRussian Jewish father and a BelgianWalloon mother.[1][2] In 1944, he attended thel'École nationale supérieure d'Architecture et des Arts décoratifs de La Cambre, Brussels where he studied illustration techniques, printing, and photography. In 1945, he discovered the work ofHenri Michaux,Jean Dubuffet and developed a friendship with the art criticJacques Putman.
In 1949, he joinedChristian Dotremont,Karel Appel,Constant,Jan Nieuwenhuys, andAsger Jorn to form the art groupCOBRA. He participated both with the COBRA exhibitions and went to Paris to study engraving atAtelier 17 under the guidance ofStanley William Hayter in 1951.
In 1954, he had his first exhibition in Paris and started to become interested in Chinese and Japanese calligraphy. In the early 1950s he was the Paris correspondent for the Japanese journalBokubi (the Beauty of Ink) published byMorita Shiryu of theBokujinkai group. In 1955, encouraged byHenri Storck andLuc de Heusch, he left for Japan with his wife. He exhibited Night, 1952 (Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki) and made a film: Japanese Calligraphy – Christian Dotremont would write the commentary with music byAndré Souris.
By 1960, he had exhibited in London,Bern, and at theVenice Biennial, and then inPittsburgh, New York City, Amsterdam, andSilkeborg as his international reputation grew.
He worked withWalasse Ting and continued to be close toChristian Dotremont. He also developed links withAndré Breton.
His international career continued throughout the seventies and by 1983 he became Professor of painting at theÉcole nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris. For the season 2018/2019 at theVienna State Opera Pierre Alechinsky designed the large-scale picture (176 sqm)Loin d'ici as part of the exhibition seriesSafety Curtain, conceived bymuseum in progress.[3]
In 1994 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Free University of Brussels, and in 1995 one of his designs was used on a Belgian stamp.
His works are held in the collections of theRoyal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, theTate,[4]Museum Ludwig inCologne, the New YorkMuseum of Modern Art,[5] theWalker Art Center in Minneapolis,[6] theArt Museum of Southeast Texas in Beaumont, Texas, theMuseum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, theFisogni Museum in Tradate,Italy.[7] The main-belt asteroid14832 Alechinsky was named in his honour in October 2000.[8]
