Luc Peire

Peire takes evening classes at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bruges during the school years 1930-31, 1932-33, and 1934-35. From 1932-35 he takes evening classes alongside his studies in Ghent. Within those same years, Peire enrolls in the day school of the Hoger Instituut voor Kunst-en Vakonderwijs Sint-Lukasschool, an arts and crafts school, in Ghent. In 1933 Peire, with Slabbinck, Léon Dieperinck and others, joins what they call a "Jongeren-Kunstgroep" (Junior Art Group), in the Middenstandshuis on the Garenmarkt in Bruges. Among the distinguished people they visit are James Ensor, Valerius DeSaedeleer and Albert Einstein. Between 1935-1940 Luc Peire passes the entrance examination to the Hoger Instituut voor Schone Kunsten in Antwerp. He works there for five years, making etchings and pastel drawings and paints interiors, landscapes and nudes. Also during his years in Antwerp, he completes his national service to his country. 


In 1938 Peire's first solo exhibition was organized in Bruges (Concertzaal, March 13-25). During the summer months of 1941, he lives with the family of Dr Auguste-Guillaume Mathys on the Schoelaerebosch estate at Oostkamp near Bruges. In 1942 Peire becomes one of the prizewinners of the Foundation Napoléon Godecharle 1941 competition with three paintings. In 1944, The solo exhibition "Luc Peire (Peintures, Dessins, Aquarelles, Pastels)" in Galeries Apollo, Brussels becomes a great success. 


From 1947-1948, Luc Peire makes preparations for a journey to Italy lasting several months. During the winter period Peire makes a cultural and study tour of more than five months through Italy and Sicily. Between 1949-1950, Luc travels south with a travel grant for Spain from the Belgian Ministry of Education. He paints in Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Granada, Cordoba and Seville. From Algeciras he extends his travels to Morocco and works there in a sequence of studio apartments. Before leaving he holds a solo exhibition in Tangier. Between 1950-1951, Luc travels to Balearics and learns the technique of fresco painting. In early April 1951 Peire does the cover design for Remi Boeckaerts' novel, "Het kruis en de vrouw." 


In 1953, the first monograph of Luc Peire is published and written in Spanish by Eduardo Westerdahl (with a separate French translation). In 1959, Peire establishes himself in Paris and rents a studio residence. From then the couple tend to spend the winter in Paris and the summer in Knokke. The next year, Peire has his first solo exhibition in Paris at the Galerie Hautefeuille, which leads to Peire's connection with Henri Chopin. In 1964, Peire is awarded the Prix Floréal of the 5th Biennale de Peinture de Menton. 


In 1969, Luc and Jenny Peire go to Italy to sign the suite of silk-screen prints Sextet Italia, which have been printed in Bergamo and published by Galleria Lorenzelli. The next yearm Piere holds a solo exhibition at Galleria Lorenzelli 
In 1992, to express his sentimental ties with his birthplace, Peire donates his complete graphic work, 86 framed prints, to the city of Bruges. In gratitude, the city organizes a one-man exhibition ‘De mens en de ruimte' at the Groeningemuseum, in collaboration with the Friends of Luc Peire. 


Luc Peire dies on February 7, 1994.