[1][2] In 1944, he attended the l'École nationale supérieure d'Architecture et des Arts décoratifs de La Cambre, Brussels where he studied illustration techniques, printing, and photography.

In 1949, he joined Christian Dotremont, Karel Appel, Constant, Jan Nieuwenhuys, and Asger Jorn to form the art group COBRA.

He exhibited Night, 1952 (Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki) and made a film: Japanese Calligraphy – Christian Dotremont would write the commentary with music by André Souris.

By 1960, he had exhibited in London, Bern, and at the Venice Biennial, and then in Pittsburgh, New York City, Amsterdam, and Silkeborg as his international reputation grew.

For the season 2018/2019 at the Vienna State Opera Pierre Alechinsky designed the large-scale picture (176 sqm) Loin d'ici as part of the exhibition series Safety Curtain, conceived by museum in progress.