Bio
Born in Brussels as the son of Russian – Jewish immigrants in 1927, Pierre Alechinsky swiftly turned to the Arts. Within his fruitful career he has established a diversified and poetical oeuvre, full of imagination and cultural notions. His work was able to close the gap between the Western – European and Asian art style. Along Karel Appel, Jorn, Corneille and Christian Dotremont, Alechinsky belongs to the “CoBrA” art stream. In the art scene of Post-War Europe they took up a noticeable important role with an unseen unique expressive style and way of work. In the sixties Alechinsky and Appel took the daring decision to travel to the United States to put up several major exhibitions, which have put their work in the MOMA in New York and other important museums and collections. Among this work “Central Park” can be mentioned as being the archetypical example as what we understand under “Alechinsky” today.
His work tells a vivid tale of characteristic reocurring themes. Volcanoes, serpents, trees, waterfalls, the sun and the sea, these are the symbols which have made Alechinsky’s life and work so poetic and recognizable. As in “Central Park” the frame within he works is often divided into smaller frames to create what some would call “a comic book” that tells several stories. If we look deeper into the work he has created throughout these years, we can conclude that his pieces from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s make up his best and strongest work. Of course, these decades coincide and represent the Golden Age of the CoBrA group.
Alechinsky gives great importance to his graphic work. This becomes clear if we look to the countless books and publications he has brought forward dedicated to his etchings, lithographs and woodcuts.