MOSCOW, 1906 – PARIS, 1969
Serge Poliakoff was a leading figure in post-war abstraction and a key member of the New School of Paris, the generation of artists that followed Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and the first wave of the 20th century European avant-garde After obtaining French citizenship in 1962, Russian-born Poliakoff presented his works in the French Pavilion at the Venice Biennale He paints abstract canvases using rich colours thought to be taken from the religious icons he encountered as a child in Russia His style is often associated with Tachisme, which was the European response to Abstract Expressionism Poliakoff fled his native Moscow in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, performing as an itinerant musician throughout Europe until he settled in Paris The work of Wassily Kandinsky and Sonia and Robert Delaunay greatly influenced his use of asymmetrical shapes and bold colours…