About Serge Poliakoff
Lived 1900 – 1969 (aged 69). Serge Poliakoff was a Russian and French painter, visual artist, graphic artist and ceramicist.
Serge Poliakoff (January 8, 1900 – October 12, 1969)
With these influences, Poliakoff quickly came to be considered one of the most powerful painters of his generation. In 1947, he was trained by Jean Deyrolle in Gordes in the Vaucluse region of France amongst peers such as Gérard Schneider, Émile Gilioli, Victor Vasarely, and Jean Dewasne. By the beginning of the 1950s, he was still staying at the Old Dovecote hotel near Saint-Germain-des-Prés, which was also home to Louis Nallard and Maria Manton, and continuing to earn a reliable income by playing the balalaika. A contract enabled him to quickly gain better financial stability.
In 1962 a room was given over to his paintings by the Venice Biennial, and Poliakoff became a French citizen in the same year. His works are now displayed in a large number of museums in Europe and New York. Poliakoff also worked with ceramics at the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres. He influenced the paintings of Arman.
In 2006, works by Poliakoff were chosen by the Musée du Luxembourg for their exhibition entitled 'L'Envolée lyrique(lit:'lyric Flight'), Paris 1945-1956', namely 'Composition en brun', 1947, Ny Carlsberg Glypothek, Copenhagen; 'Composition rouge avec trait', 1952, Cologne Museum; 'Composition IV', 1954) [catalogue : ].
In 2013, The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris devoted a large-scale retrospective to the abstract painter which included 150 works from the period 1946–1969. Since 1970 there has been no significant exhibition of the work of Serge Poliakoff in what became his home city.
Exhibitions Serge Poliakoff, Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo (1970) Serge Poliakoff, Lorenzelli Arte, Milan (1983) Serge Poliakoff, Le rêve des formes, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2013) Serge Poliakoff, Galerie Applicat-Prazan, Paris (2013)
Works Available Paintings, Works on Paper and Biography Galerie Ludorff, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Important facts
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serge poliakoff, Sergei PoliakovPeople in Serge Poliakoff's life
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Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Serge Poliakoff?
French painter (1900–1969)
When was Serge Poliakoff born?
Serge Poliakoff was born on 8 January 1900 in Moscow.
When did Serge Poliakoff die?
Serge Poliakoff died on 12 October 1969 in Paris.
What was Serge Poliakoff's occupation?
Serge Poliakoff was a painter, visual artist, graphic artist and ceramicist.
What nationality was Serge Poliakoff?
Serge Poliakoff was Russian and French.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Serge Poliakoff. https://biography.guide/serge-poliakoff/
MLA: "Serge Poliakoff." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/serge-poliakoff/.
Chicago: "Serge Poliakoff." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/serge-poliakoff/.
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