Pastel paintings and panels, decorative flowers and tapestries - the work of Ukrainian artist Mykhailo Bilas is diverse and unbanal. He chose an interesting path, turning to several areas of decorative art: he embroidered pillows, rugs, napkins, made bouquets of artificial flowers, created colorful applications from ordinary cardboard and paper. Born in 1924 in the village of Krekhovichi (Ivano-Frankivsk region) in the family of a forester. In his youth, Bilas connected his life with creativity, however, in a different way: after graduating from the gymnasium in Drohobych, he took up dancing and studied at a choreographic studio, and also completed a vocal class. And only in Lvov did the young artist enter the Institute of Decorative Arts, where he studied for 6 years.
In his works, Bilas combined folk motifs with Art Nouveau. He was called the “composer of color”, and not by chance, because the artist skillfully combined various shades that harmoniously combined into a single whole. And always these compositions give joyful, life-affirming emotions. He used the entire palette, both the brightest tones and the darkest. The sense of color made it possible to convey emotions both on paper and with the help of fabrics and other materials.
The master wove tapestries from woolen threads, which he himself dyed. Wool chose Ukrainian and foreign: friends from Canada gave him something, as a token of gratitude, Bilas sent them his works. Today, in one of the Canadian cities, in Edmonton, there is a small collection of the artist. Numerous works have been exhibited for decades in Poland, Bulgaria, France, Belgium and other countries of the world.
Bilas created most of his creations in Truskavets, where he lived most of his life. Here in 1992 the Art Museum of Mikhail Bilas was opened. A collection of over 150 works by the author is presented in 12 halls. Another collection is in one of the museums of Kolomyia. In the last years of his life, Bilas worked on pastels. His last tapestry called "Kosovo Bazaar" was left unfinished because it took too much strength. The artist died in 2016 in Truskavets, leaving behind hundreds of original masterpieces.
