Born in Paris in 1925, at the age of 19 Denise Lioté studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and later at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs (School of Applied Arts). She came to appreciate Cézanne.

Acting as interpreter for an American journalist, she met Bonnard and Léger, visited Braque and Pignon in their studios, and discovered a new world of pictorial possibilities.

In 1955, after becoming acquainted with Vieira da Silva and De Staël, she redirected her personal research towards a more allusive figurative expression involving cities and building sites. Then she turned her attention to the four elements, starting with water and moving on to fire which led her in turn to engage in larger compositions. In 1961, she f...