Full Name Mykola Babak Name Mykola Babak Website Facebook | Known for painting Nationality Ukrainian Role Artist | |
Periods Neo-expressionism, Assemblage Awards Shevchenko National Prize in Documentary and Scientific-Sritical Literature | ||
Mykola Babak (Ukrainian: Микола Бабак, 10 June 1954) is a Ukrainian artist, writer, publisher, and art collector; lives and works in Cherkasy.
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Biography
Mykola Babak was born in Voronyntsi, Cherkasy Oblast. In 1971 he finished Melnyky Secondary School. From 1972 till 1972 he served in the Soviet Army. After demobilization he worked as a designer at Cherkasy "Azot" Company and at Cherkasy Combine of art-advertisement. From 1979 till 1985 together with group of Russian artists he managed monumental projects (paintings, mosaics, stained-glass windows) in the far-east of Russia. In 1986 Mykola Babak came back to Ukraine.
Babak is the member of National Union of Artists of Ukraine (from 1990), Merited Artist of Ukraine (2004), Shevchenko National Prize Laureate (2010), People's Artist of Ukraine (2016). His works are at the National Art Museum of Ukraine, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, Ministry of Culture and Mass-Communication of Russian Federation. Babak lives and works in Cherkasy.
Art
Babak's artistic works are made in the techniques of hyperreality, neo-expressionism, transavantgarde, assemblage. The artist adheres to the stylistic principles of post-avantgarde. He is known for his national project "Your children, Ukraine" at the 51st Venice Biennale (2005). Since 2014 Mykola Babak has been working with Evgene Matveev under the name Art-tandem Babak & Matveev.
Selected exhibitions
2016 “The Ukrainian Rural Photo (from Mykola Babak’s private collection)”, The National Taras Shevchenko Museum, Kyiv
2015 “The Central Dnipro River Region Folk Icon of the 18th – 20th c.(from Mykola Babak’s private collection)”, Art Museum, Cherkasy
2013 “IV Fine Art Ukraine”, Art-Arsenal, Kyiv
2006 Personal exhibition “Celestial Chronicle”, The National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv
2005 National Project “Your Children, Ukraine” at the 51st Venice Biennale
2005 Project “Your Children, Ukraine”, Diploma and 1-st Prize, The Gallery of the National Ukrainian Artist Trade Union, Kyiv
2004 “Ukrainian Rural Photo (from Mykola Babak’s private collection)” V International Photobiennale, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow
2003 “The Ukrainian Retrospective”, I Kyiv Photobiennale, Art Foundation Gallery, Kyiv
2002 “The Ukrainian World of Painting”, Beijing
2000 “Collection of Axiomatic”, The Gallery of the National Ukrainian Artist Trade Union, Kyiv
1999 Personal Exhibition “Telluris”, The National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv
1993 “People with People”, Poland
Collecting
In 1990 Babak began to collect Ukrainian folk art. He has collections of folk icons of the 18th - 20th centuries, folk naïve paintings, folk photos and household items of the Central Upper Dnieper River Region. The collection of folk icons is considered to be the most outstanding while it represents the iconography of Taras Shevchenko's land where the basis of the Ukrainian nation, language and culture was formed.