Artistic approach
Drawings, engravings, lithographs, wall prints and bibliophile works connected with books and nature will all be on show in Alechinsky’s 1948-2020 retrospective at the Domain of Chaumont-sur-Loire. The artist started out in life as a typographer and printer and has always been fascinated by paper and printing techniques, with longstanding knowledge of all their secrets and potentialities. The exhibition immerses us in over 70 years of creation, during which Alechinsky’s genius, culture and humour have ruled unchallenged.
A catalogue book, published by Gallimard to mark the occasion and entitled Alechinsky à l’imprimerie will accompany the event.
In 1951, he moved to Paris, where he studied engraving under Stanley William Hayter. It was there that he came across a journal on Japanese calligraphy, which led him to start a correspondence with the great calligrapher Shiryu Morita. Everything about such work interested Alechinsky: the brushes, the ink, the paper, the freedom in interpreting standard ideograms. All of them would leave their mark on his own body of work. “Alechinsky adores paper that cracks and crinkles, he loves pencils that glide slowly, ink that proudly marks its violation, watercolour that ennobles all it enhances. Drawing to him is the liveliest of confessions, he knows that it is as much an act of avowal as it is of discretion. The art of drawing is by no means simple recreation or relaxation, it is a magical imprint on the paper’s mesmerising surface,” the writer Yves Peyré argues in Le Rêve et son Préalable (2017).
The artist first came up with his “marginal remarks” in 1965 in the work Central Park, and they are among his most wondrously unique means of expression. They “come from a vocabulary stemming from the printing business. Engravers who had to draw on copper plates with burins or in drypoint tried out their tools on the margins of the plate; caught up in the game, they often sketched little images. For my part, they sometimes explain what’s in the centre of the work, at other times they accompany it, take on more importance”, he explains, switching from drawing to painting in this work, while keeping the paper, which he mounts on canvas. The artist wasn’t aware of it at the time, but by framing the central figure with other, smaller drawings, he creates a pictorial arrangement that takes over the limits of the painting and protects it, drawing and holding our eye. When questioned about his method, Alechinsky emphasises the absence of any protocol and draws one’s attention to an absolute necessity: the need to do something. “Everything must begin here, even without knowing where to start. That’s what painting is. You must do. Then comes the first brushstroke.” And in conclusion, “Doing starts you thinking.”
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Pierre ALECHINSKY
BELGIUM
1927: birth in Brussels
1944: studies book illustration and typography at Brussels School of Decorative Arts (La Cambre)
1947: P.A. paints independently; first exhibition at the Lou Cosyn Gallery in Brussels, visited by Marcel Lecomte, Camille Goemans, René Magritte and André Souris
1948: Pierre meets Micky (Michèle Dendal); first series of etchings: Les métiers (Trades); first illustrations: Guillaume Apollinaire's Le Poète Assassiné (The Poet Assassinated) and an unpublished work by Marcel Lecomte: Le Sens des Tarots (The Meaning of Tarot Cards)
1949: P.A. joins CoBrA: Karel Appel, Constant, Corneille, Christian Dotremont, Asger Jorn (…); 1st International Exhibition of Experimental Art / CoBrA at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; they set up a Research and Visitor Centre for CoBrA at the Ateliers du Marais; Pierre marries Micky
1950: they travel to Denmark, visit Heerup and his sculpture garden, Carl Henning Pedersen and his retrospective at the HØst exhibition; Jorn invites P.A. to the Spiralen exhibition in Copenhagen
1951: hospitalised in the Silkeborg sanatorium (Denmark), Dotremont and Jorn entrust P.A. with organisation of the 2nd [and last] International Exhibition of Experimental Art / CoBrA at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Liege (Belgium); after which the Alechinskys settle in Paris
1952: birth of Ivan — who would go on to become the writer Ivan Alechine; P.A. works at Atelier 17 alongside Stanley William Hayter
1953: travelling exhibition in Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Florence: Quelques Graveurs Contemporains autour de l’Atelier 17 (A Few Contemporary Printmakers from Atelier 17): Alechinsky, Corneille, Courtin, Max Ernst, Hayter, Herold, Miro, Ubac, Villon, etc.; P.A. publishes in the catalogue of the October Salon Paris: Nomenclature hâtive des insultes et invectives les plus fréquemment employées par James Ensor dans ses lettres et conférences de 1884 à 1934 (Early classification of insults and invectives most frequently used by James Ensor in his letters and lectures); correspondence with Morita Shiryū, leader of a group of calligraphers in Kyoto and founder of the journal Bokubi
1954: first solo exhibition in Paris, Nina Dausset Gallery — visitors include Michel Butor, Alberto Giacometti, Jean Messagier, Matta, Henri Michaux, Jean Paulhan, Serge Poliakoff, Jacques Putman, Walasse Ting and Bram Van Velde
1955: Marseille-Yokohama by sea; films a documentary in Kyoto and Tokyo: Calligraphie japonaise (Japanese Calligraphy)
1956: film edited by Jean Cleinge; voiceover written by Christian Dotremont and spoken by Roger Blin; music by André Souris
1957: after a trip to Lapland, Dotremont take a rest at the Alechinskys' home
1958: P.A. becomes a member of the May Salon's Executive Committee; contract with the Galerie de France, Paris; birth of Nicolas — who would go on to become the sculptor Alquin
1959: 4 Maler: Tàpies / Alechinsky / Messagier / Moser at the Kunsthalle, Bern
1960: 30th Venice Biennale: P.A. in a room in the Belgian Pavilion
1961: P.A. (painter) and Reinhoud (sculptor) at the Stedelijk museum, Amsterdam; Hall of Honour at the Pittsburgh International Exhibition, Carnegie Institute
1962: "four-handed" paintings with Walasse Ting
1963: exhibition presented by Hugo Claus at the Stedelijk van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven (Netherlands)
1964: leaves Paris for Bougival
1965: solo exhibition at the Art Club of Chicago, reprised in Minneapolis and New York; André Breton chooses Central Park (acrylic with "marginal remarks” on paper glued onto canvas) for the 11th International Exhibition of Surrealism, Paris
1966: Prize winner at the International Print Biennale, Krakow; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam: Alechinsky, un choix de 205 lithographies et gravures de 1947 à 1965 (A selection of 205 lithographs and engravings from 1947 to 1965)
1967: setup of a printmaking workshop headed by Jean Clerté; exhibits Un Ensemble d’Impressions (A Series of Prints) at the Librairie La Hune bookshop/gallery, Paris
1968: prints a placard: il est pour l’étudiant celui qui s’étudie (It's for the student, he who studies himself)
1969: retrospective at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, reprised in Denmark and Germany
1970: paintings "with three brushes" with Jorn and Ting
1971: Albert Skira publishes Alechinsky's La Roue libre (The Free Wheel)
1972: Alechinsky and Dotremont exhibit at the Venice Biennale's Belgian Pavilion
1973: L’avenir de la propriété (The Future of Property): 34 drawings on writings from 1661 à 1883, purchased individually or in batches at the Chatou Junk Fair, Brussels Flea Market, Aix-en-Provence and Saint-Ouen (…), Yves Rivière, publisher, Paris
1974: “encres à deux pinceaux” (Inks with Two Brushes) with Dotremont; P.A.: Ten Years of Acrylic Painting at the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam, an exhibition reprised in 1975 at the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art
1976: mural with Dotremont for the Brussels metro
1977: Andrew W. Mellon Prize (former Carnegie Prize) for his whole body of work, coupled with a retrospective at the Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh
1978: joins the Maeght Gallery — which becomes the Lelong Gallery in 1987; Dessins d’Alechinsky (Drawings by Alechinsky) at the National Museum of Modern Art (MnAM)-Centre Pompidou, Paris
1979: exhibition at the Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark
1980: Al alimon: "inks with two brushes" with Alberto Gironella; retrospective of drawings at Mexico's Museum of Modern Art; exhibition at the Kestner Gesellschaft, Hanover; first works with the ceramist Hans Spinner
1981: A Print Retrospective at the MoMA, New York
1982: Appel et Alechinsky, encres à deux pinceaux, peintures, etc. (Appel and Alechinsky, inks with two brushes, paintings, etc.) Maeght Foundation, Saint-Paul
1983: teacher at the National Higher School of Fine Arts, Paris, up until 1987
1984: large-format wall prints for printer and publisher Frank Bordas; National Grand Prix of Arts and Letters, Paris
1985: decorates the Ministry of Culture's reception room, Paris
1986: 25 Years Lefebre Gallery: Pierre Alechinsky, New York
1987: Alechinsky / Margin and Center, paintings with "marginal remarks” at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, reprised in 1988 at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels; setup of a studio in Provence
1989: Alechinsky à la Maison de Balzac (Alechinsky at Balzac's House), Paris
1990: Alechinsky sur Rhône (Alechinsky on the Rhone): Réattu Museum, Arles
1991: Alechinsky: Reisende Tusche (Alechinsky: Tusche Traveller), Rupertinum, Salzburg
1992: Alechinsky au Musée de la Marine (Alechinsky at the Navy Museum), Paris
1993: at the National Assembly, decorates the rotunda connecting Hôtel de Lassay to the Bourbon Palace; Alechinsky, 50 ans d’imprimerie (50 Years of Printmaking), Atelier Clot, Bramsen et Georges, Paris
1994: Alechinsky en Bataille (Alechinsky at an Angle), Bordas Gallery, Venice; P.A., Écritures d’herbe (Cursive Writings), Erasmus House Museum, Brussels
1995: Zoek de Zeven, wall ceramic with Hugo Claus at the State University Centre, Antwerp
1996: Instituto de Artes Gráficas, Oaxaca, Mexico: P.A., Labor de imprenta de cinco décadas (Five Decades of Printmaking)
1997: Alechinsky: peintures du temps que j’avais 69 ans (Paintings from when I was 69), Salon d’Art, Brussels; Frédéric Charron: catalogue raisonné of 165 Alechinsky posters since 1946, Ides et Calendes, Lausanne; Alechinsky, l’œil du peintre (Alechinsky, the Painter's Eye): film by Pierre Dumayet and Robert Bober
1998: retrospective designed by Daniel Abadie at the Jeu de Paume National Gallery, Paris; retrospective, with works selected by Rainer M. Mason, at the Cabinet des Estampes, Geneva
1999: enamelled lava mural at the Jorn Museum, Silkeborg
2000: Alechinsky, 50 ans d’imprimerie (50 Years of Printmaking): Centre for Engraving and the Printed Image (CGII), La Louvière
2001: P.A., Divers faits (Various Facts): with Michel Butor, Christian Dotremont, Amos Kenan, Joyce Mansour, Hans Spinner and Honoré de Balzac, Blaise Cendrars, presented by Dominique Radrizzani at the Jenisch Museum, Vevey
2002: The Complete Books: a Reasonable Catalogue: Ceuleers & van de Velde, Antwerp
2003: P.A., Satie en miroir et autres pièces à quatre mains (Satie Mirrored and Other Pieces for Four Hands) at the Jeu de Paume National Gallery, Paris
2004: P.A., Dessins de cinq décennies (Five Decades of Drawings) at the National Museum of Modern Art (MnAM)-Centre Pompidou, Paris; Mercure de France, Paris, publishes Alechinsky's Des deux mains (By Two Hands)
2005: Alechinsky at the Kunsthalle, Emden; Les impressions de Pierre Alechinsky (Pierre Alechinsky's Prints) at the BnF, Paris
2006: Alechinsky / Sources et résurgences (Sources and Resurgences): Maison René Char, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
2007: Alechinsky de A à Y (Alechinsky from A to Y): Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
2008: Alechinsky — Pavane pour Octavio Paz (Pavane for Octavio Paz), Mexican Cultural Centre, Paris
2009: Post Cobra / Alechinsky Appel Jorn, Essl Museum, Vienna
2010: Daniel Abadie presents P.A., les Ateliers du Midi at the Granet Museum, Aix-en-Provence
2011: Pierre Alechinsky et Fata Morgana, introduction: Salah Stétié, text: Yves Peyré, Hospice Saint Roch Museum, Issoudun
2012: Alechinsky, Le combat avec l’âge (The Battle with Age), Salon d’Art, Brussels; Hélène Cixous: Le voyage de la racine Alechinsky (The Journey of the Root), published by Galilée, Paris
2013: P.A., 50 ans d’imprimerie (50 Years of Printmaking): Atelier Clot, Bramsen et Georges, Paris
2014: Alechinsky en Bataille (Alechinsky at an Angle), Bordas Gallery, Venice; P.A., Écritures d’herbe (Cursive Writings), Erasmus House Museum, Brussels
2015: Alechinsky sur papier (Alechinsky on Paper): Circulo de Bellas Artes, Madrid
2016: P.A. post Cobra, Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunsten, Amstelveen; P.A., marginalia / plume et pinceau (Pen and Brush), Matisse Museum, Le Cateau-Cambrésis; retrospective in Tokyo at the Bunkamura Museum of Art, reprised in 2017 at the National Museum of Art, Osaka; P.A. receives the Praemium Imperial, Tokyo; Alechinsky, les palimpsestes (Alechinsky, the Palimpsests), Centre for Engraving and the Printed Image (CGII), La Louvière (Belgium) ; the National Museum of Modern Art (MnAM)-Centre Pompidou, Paris, exhibits Central Park to mark Alechinsky's 90th birthday.
2018: P.A. decorates the Vienna National Opera House's annual safety curtain
2019: Alechinsky au pays de l’encre (Alechinsky in the Land of Ink): Centre Pompidou, Malaga; Gallimard Gallery, Paris: P.A., travaux d’accompagnement (Accompanying Works)
2021: Alechinsky / Carta Canta at the MrAMB, Brussels; University Library, Strasbourg: Butor, Alechinsky, Dotremont, Bonnefoy
2022: Sonia Zannettacci Gallery, P.A., Blanc sur noir et autres couleurs (White on Black and Other Colours); Salon d’Art, Brussels: P.A., Ultima?
2023: Lelong Gallery, Paris: Alechinsky / Dernières nouvelles (Latest News); Chaumont-sur Loire: Alechinsky à l’imprimerie (Alechinsky at the Printing House)
ALECHINSKY. "ALECHINSKY À L'IMPRIMERIE".
