Born in Savigliano in 1912, Giovanni Balansino trained first in Milan, at the Castello Sforzesco School of Art, then in Rome, under the guidance of Virgilio Retrosi, painter and ceramist. He moved to Cantù, where he was a pupil of Ugo Bernasconi and collaborated with Carlo Pianca in the decoration of some churches. He began exhibiting in Milan in 1942 at the Ranzini, Guglielmi and Schettini galleries, then participating in the Brera Biennials, the Rome Quadrennial and the Bergamo Prize. Numerous personal exhibitions in the main Italian cities and abroad (Buenos Aires, Zurich, Enchede, Saint Moritz), Numerous also trips and stays in Paris, New York and Latin America, Egypt, Switzerland, Holland, Spain and Greece where he performed works then the subject of important exhibitions. Balansino died in Busto Arsizio in 1986.