Belgian painter and graphic artist Pierre Alechinsky was born in Brussels on October 19, 1927. After studying at the École nationale supérieure d'architecture et des arts décoratifs in Brussels, he joined the Jeune Peinture Belge in 1947 and had his first solo exhibition that same year.

In 1949, Alechinsky joined the Cobra group but disassociated from it in 1951 after devoting himself to organizing the group’s shows and producing eight issues of the group’s newsletter. He moved to Paris in 1951 where he studied engraving with Hayter at Atelier 17 the following year. Alechinsky soon developed an interest in calligraphy which led to a trip to Japan in 1955. The following year he made a film in Japan entitled Calligraphie japonaise.

Between 1983 and 1987, Alechinsky was a professor of painting at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris and, 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.

Alechinsky’s work has been included in group exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; Venice Biennale; Pittsburgh International (now Carnegie International); São Paulo Biennial; and the Guggenheim Museum. Alechinsky has received numerous international solo exhibitions at institutions as diverse as the Palais des beaux-arts, Brussels; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Musée national d'art moderne Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Guggenheim Museum; Taipei Fine Arts Museum; and Jeu de Paume, Paris. Museés royaux de beaux-arts de Belgique, Brussels, mounted a major retrospective in 2007.