Learn Russian: Вам понравилась выставка?

In Russian, the verb понравиться (to like or to please) works backwards compared to English. The person who likes something is put in the Dative case (here, Вам, meaning to you), and the thing being liked is the grammatical subject in the Nominative case. Literally, it translates to: Was the exhibition pleasing to you?

Why is the verb понравилась in the feminine form when the person I am asking might be a man?

The verb agrees with the grammatical subject of the sentence, which is выставка (the exhibition). Since выставка is a feminine noun, the past tense verb must take the feminine ending -ась, regardless of the gender of the person you are talking to.

What is the difference between using perfective понравилась here instead of imperfective нравилась?

The perfective понравилась focuses on the final result or your overall impression after the event has finished. If you asked Вам нравилась выставка?, it would focus on the ongoing process in the past, sounding more like: Were you enjoying the exhibition (while it was happening)?

Why does Вам come at the beginning of the sentence instead of after the verb?

Russian word order is flexible, but the beginning of the sentence sets the topic. Starting with Вам emphasizes that you are asking about their specific experience. While Выставка понравилась вам? is grammatically correct, Вам понравилась выставка? is the most natural and common way to ask this question.