Pierre Alechinsky (1927-    )

  Pierre Alechinsky, who was born in Brussels, was one of the founders of the CoBrA group (Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam) whose dedication to primitive form and often violent strokes of color paralleled the American abstract expressionist movement. The group was formed as a reaction to the formal, refined art popular in other European cities immediately after World War II. The artist's style, anguished during the CoBrA period, softened perceptibly as acceptance for his art grew, but it remains strongly expressionistic. He is particularly adept at achieving subtleties and intensities of color in the lithographic process. The recipient of the Andrew Mellon Prize in 1977, Alechinsky is represented in the collections of sixty-five of the world's leading museums. He has been honored with a permanent room in the Louisiana Museum in Denmark.