Yonkers bazaar highlights art by Mykhaylo Barabash

by Olia Szkafarowsky-Rudyk

YONKERS, N.Y. - It is not always easy to see the things around us. They are too familiar to be noticed. This is why we enjoy the ordinary exposed to us on a small piece of canvas through the eyes of the artist. Yet, Mykhaylo Barabash is far from an ordinary artist creating images on canvas. It is his talent, vision and more so his heart that guide the paintbrush to create beauty in simplicity, expose the unexpected and give joy to the viewer.

Mr. Barabash was born in 1952 in the village of Vidnyky, Lviv region of Ukraine. He studied at the graphics department of Ivan Fedorov Ukrainian Polygraphic Institute in Lviv. He continued his studies at the Lviv College of Decorative and Applied Art and in 1998 became head of the graphics department.

Mr. Barabash is multi-talented, for he has creatively worked in the area of easel painting, book illustrations and advertising graphics. He has been a participant in numerous regional Ukrainian and international exhibits, and more importantly held his first personal exhibition of graphics in 1986 in Lviv.

While visiting the United States for a few months in 1991, Mr. Barabash was overwhelmed by New York City. He quickly began creating a series of graphic works and paintings, which culminated in a personal exhibition in New York City in March of 1991. All his pieces were marked by depth and conveyed his first impression of America.

Mr. Barabash's main works include a series of engravings "The Features of Lviv's History"; a series of graphic prints, "My Childhood"; and a series of lithographs of Lviv's panoramic views.

Mr. Barabash participated in an art exhibit and Christmas bazaar on December 11, 2005, at St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church, 21 Shonnard Place, Yonkers, N.Y., sponsored by Branch 30 of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America. Mr. Barabash exhibited his current creative works in oil and oil-based pastels. The themes for the paintings are his native village, views of Lviv, the Carpathian Mountains, still life drawings and portraits.

In addition to Mr. Barabash, Branch 30 invited Olia Basarab Kolodij from Philadelphia with her unique collection of glass paintings, embroidery, hand-made clay jewelry and gerdany; and Myron Bokalo and Daria Hanushevska, with their handmade Trypillian and Hutsul ceramics, not to mention Christmas ornaments.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 15, 2006, No. 3, Vol. LXXIV

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