Serghej Potapenko (1962 - 2003) was born in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. After participating in some exhibitions in Russia, at the end of the eighties of the twentieth century he moved to Turin where his creativity emerges: a painting of strong intensity, marked by originality and a mystical-fairy tale dimension that arouses the interest of the world of contemporary art in Turin, including the Weber Gallery, the Franco Antonicelli Cultural Union and illustrious critics, such as Francesco Poli.
From 1994 he resided for long periods in Pinerolo, during which he intertwined a fruitful and significant collaboration with the En Plein Air Arte Contemporanea Association, which lasted until 1999. A series of collective and personal exhibitions promoted in Italy, France dates back to these years and Spain by Elena Privitera and Enrico Pettigiani. The culmination of this collaboration is, today, this large retrospective of his hosted at the Civic Art Gallery of Palazzo Vittone in Pinerolo. A tribute to the artist who developed and enriched his poetic world in this city.

The exhibition curated by Francesco Poli presents over 90 works from public and private collections, including paintings, photographs, objects and materials that belonged to the artist, such as the palette and colors he used to create his works.
Francesco Poli, Mauro Comba, Tiziana Conti, Paola Mantovani, Laura Marchiando Pacchiola, Luisa Perlo, Wences Rambla, Tonino Rivolo have written about him, among others.