Midwest Book Review
Symbols In Art: The Hidden Keys To Love, Balance, And Renewal by Serge Polakoff adroitly combines full-color artwork (including many classical pieces), with an erudite and learned discourse concerning the meaning and power of symbols. Very highly recommended reading, especially for students of art, art history, and graphic design, Symbols In Art is superbly articulated with four symbols associated with the classical four elements of earth, water, air, and fire, the informed and informative text accessibly explores hypothetical, emotional, and evocative issues embracing the soul of humanity and the expression of that soul through artistic creations.

Henry Berry, book reviewer
The Small Press Book Review
Polakoff comments on notable paintings and several of his own works to shed light on his belief “that contemporary Symbolist art can integrate the opposites of the concrete and imaginary worlds.” This belief is tied in with the author's extensive study of Jungian psychology. Polakoff's aim is a holistic response to Symbolist paintings — an ideal balance between thought and feeling allowing for nothing less than greater harmony and joy in existence.

Among the Symbolist paintings from this art movement of the latter 1800s and early 1900s, Polakoff treats the reader to visual feasts such as Christ and Buddha (1890-92) by Paul-Elie Ranson, The Three Brides (1893) by Jan Toroop, and The Love of Souls (1900) by Jean Delville. He also includes paintings by Titian, Kandinsky, Botticelli, and a few others which are not strictly in the Symbolist school, but which nevertheless also demonstrate his belief in the capacity of an art incorporating symbols to bring a joyful awareness into the lives of individuals and into society as a whole.

Polakoff is a spiritual teacher and guide as well as an artist. His Symbols in Art is an oversize, 9" x 12" book with high-quality full-color reproductions of the many works of art that can be contemplated by readers as they put the author's guidance into practice.

M. Polonsky, book reviewer
Fearless Books Review
A book that contains fine reproductions of stunningly beautiful and evocative art is wonderful to peruse, regardless of its unifying theme, and this book is no exception. From Botticell’s The Birth of Venus, to Klimt’s The Kiss, to Blake’s The Ancient of Days, to Magritte’s The Obsession, author Serge Polakoff presents a selection of outstandingly colorful and mesmerizing work — including his own pieces, which are sprinkled liberally throughout. But Mr. Polakoff is not so much interested in “art for art’s sake” as he is in mining the images for symbols, articulating their messages, and releasing their potent spiritual and psychological charge.

Polakoff ardently believes that the dynamic symbols found in art can restore internal balance, inspire hope, and even extend love, the real stuff. “The world needs artistic expression that encourages the replacement of the love of power with the power of love,” he declares in his introduction. The book’s sections correspond to the elements of earth, water, air, and fire — which in turn correspond to wisdom, love, the soul, and hope, in the author’s view.

Polakoff provides symbolic analyses of each and every work reproduced here. Some of his analyses reveal what a casual observer might miss; others seem highly subjective and perhaps even unnecessary. But Polakoff’s perspectives are all grounded in his abundant love for the medium, his considerable expertise in the history of “symbolist” art in a variety of cultural and historical contexts, and his passionate commitment to the employment of art towards the betterment of the human condition. On whatever level one chooses to enjoy this book, these remarkable paintings are a delight for the eye, mind, and heart.