Pierre Alechinsky

PIERRE ALECHINSKY (Brussels, 1927).
“Arene,” 1972–1973.
Lithograph, print no. IX/XV.
Signed and numbered by hand.
Measurements: 76 x 55 cm.

Pierre Alechinsky had founded the CoBrA group in the 1950s alongside Karel Appel and other artists. The desire to overturn the rationalism and purism that had dominated certain avant-garde movements persists in the work Alechinsky produced in the following decades. The aggressiveness of the gesture, the vibrant palette, the forceful brushwork, and the rejection of realism are artistic pursuits to which Alechinsky remains faithful in this 1974 painting. The Belgian artist often chose titles that referred to states of mind or abstract concepts and, through the symbolism of color, texture, and impetuous gesturality, translated them into captivating compositions such as the one before us. “Arene” is thus captured in a searing symphony that stirs us to our core.

A lithographer, painter, and theorist, Pierre Alechinsky trained at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture et des Arts Décoratifs de la Cambre in Brussels, demonstrating both talent and interest in illustration and typography. In 1945, he discovered the work of Michaux, Dubuffet, and the Surrealists, at which time he also struck up a friendship with the art critic Jacques Putman. He began painting in 1947, embarking on a career that would blend certain characteristics of Expressionism with those of Surrealism, both accompanied by a highly personal style. In the late 1940s, he met the poet Christian Dotremont, one of the founding members of the CoBrA group (an acronym for Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam), and Alechinsky joined the group in 1949. Along with Alechinsky, the group included Karel Appel, Christian Dotremont, and Asger Jorn, among others. He also participated in the group’s first international exhibition in Amsterdam and collaborated on canvases with Karel Appel and other members. After CoBrA disbanded, Alechinsky moved to Paris, where he experimented with printmaking at the renowned Atelier 17. There he met Giacometti, Bram van Velde, and Victor Brauner. In 1954, he held his first solo exhibition at the Nina Dausset Gallery in Paris, where he met the painter Walasse Ting, who would have a significant influence on him. In 1956, he created “Central Park,” an acrylic painting that included “marginal observations,” a recurring theme in much of his work. The first retrospective of his work took place in 1969 at the Palace of Fine Arts in Brussels. In 1966, André Breton selected this piece for the international exhibition of the Surrealist movement. His work has been exhibited in Amsterdam, London, the Venice Biennale, New York, and elsewhere, and is held in major private collections and institutions such as the Marion Lefebre Collection in Los Angeles, the Galerie Leolong in Paris, the Reina Sofía Art Center Museum in Madrid, and MoMA, among others.