Vorokhta Mykola

Member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (1995), Honoured Artist of Ukraine (2014).

Mykola Vorokhta was born on 18 July 1947 in Rakhiv, Transcarpathian region. From 1954 to 1965, the future artist attended the fine arts studio studying at the wonderful teacher Vasyl Zeikan. In 1971, Mykola graduated from the Art and Graphic Faculty of the Odesa Pedagogical Institute named after Ushynskyi. In the seaside city, Mykola found his love – he was fortunate enough to meet a talented girlfriend, with whom he studied, defended their diplomas under the leadership of Viktor Yefimenko, and then they taught children drawing in Storozhets, Chernivtsi region. Alla Vorokhta is an artist with whom Mykola goes through his life, implementing joint creative ideas and presenting their work at joint exhibitions.

Almost a quarter century the artist devoted to his teaching activities – from 1974 to 1998, he was teaching at the Department of Drawing and Painting of the Architectural Institute of the Odesa State Architecture and Construction Academy. His youngest son Yurii graduated from this educational institution as well.

Nevertheless, the artist, whose creative formation was influenced by the meeting with the People's Artist of Rakhiv region M. Tulaidan and the People's Artist of Ukraine A. Kotska, has been always in love with his homeland. A special place in the artist’s creativity is taken by the theme of his native Transcarpathia.

Among the artist's works, one can distinguish colourful rural landscapes. Although the mountain villages cannot be distinguished by the special romanticism, the author's paintings are full of his sentimental attitude towards his native Hutsul region, nostalgia for his father's house, the beauty of the nature of his native land. They are calm with a sense of easiness, like children's memories.

Among the artist’s masterpieces, there are also sea landscapes with the notes of romanticism. Thanks to the author's technique, these works transmit the sea breeze and warmth of the sun-heated sandstone.

Mykola Vorokhta is not limited to the academic frameworks, so with the purpose of creating textured surfaces and relief of images, he boldly experiments with various kinds of materials. Watercolour and gouache in wet, oil painting, collages – use of various techniques generates a wide range of genres and themes from landscapes and still lifes to abstract compositions.

The artist is a participant in the international, republican and all-Ukrainian art exhibitions. Creative works of Mykola Vorokhta are kept at the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the Museum of Contemporary Art (Odesa), the Museum of Fine Arts named after O. Bilyi (Chornomorsk), the historical museum "Palanok" (Mukachevo), Transcarpathian Regional Art Museum named after Y. Bokshai (Uzhhorod), museums of Ukrainian and Rusyn culture (Svidnik, Slovakia), as well as private collections in France, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Estonia and other countries of the world.