Serge Poliakoff, a Russian artist, is associated with the École de Paris and with post-war abstract movements in Europe.

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After fleeing the Russian Revolution in 1917, Poliakoff moved to Paris in 1923. He studied painting at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and at the Slade School in London, where he discovered abstraction. Returning to France in 1937, he devoted himself to painting nudes, exhibiting for the first time individually and participating in the Parisian Salons.

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Wassily Kandinsky and the couple Delaunay have a decisive influence ‍on his understanding of color and abstraction. Initially inspired by free forms, intense colors and transparency, Poliakoff then turned to more geometric shapes and a darker palette to nourish his “pictorial poems”. Poliakoff's paintings are characterized by interlocking puzzle arrangements, composed of spots of bold color, in non-figurative scenes.

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“Malevich showed me the crucial role of the vibration of matter. Even if there is no color, a painting where matter vibrates remains alive.” - Serge Poliakoff

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An exceptional retrospective was dedicated to him in 2007 at the Espace Paul Riquet in Béziers.