On October 4, 2024, the opening of a personal exhibition of works by the famous Odessa artist, People’s Artist of Ukraine Mykola Prokopenko “VIVAT LIFE” for the Artist’s Day, which is celebrated in Ukraine on the second Sunday of October, took place at the O.O. Osmerkin Art Memorial Museum.
    The exhibition with such a symbolic name was presented at the initiative of the author, and the artist’s daughter Tetiana Bahar (Prokopenko) helped to organize it. The exhibition’s exposition consists of 35 graphic works created by the artist in 2023 in mixed media. Decorativeness, monumentality and cosmic perception of the world, in which the image of a woman personifies life, because she gives birth and raises children, protects the home and radiates love – all this is the basis of the artist’s artistic philosophy. His works are full of vital energy, and artistic images encourage us to learn the meaning of life.
    Prokopenko Mykola Mykolayovych was born on August 17, 1945 in the village of Lymanske, Reniisky district, Odessa region. He lives and works in the city of Odessa. He graduated from the Odessa State Art School named after M.B. Hrekov (1971) and the Kyiv State Art Institute, now the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture (1977).
    Mykola Prokopenko is a powerful creative personality in modern Ukrainian fine arts, it is not for nothing that he is called “the creator of a unique artistic style that extremely vividly expresses the Ukrainian mentality”. His work is distinguished by a bright individual artistic style, based on the traditions of baroque plastic arts of Ukrainian modernism, the symbolism of folk art and the avant- garde searches of artists of Europe of the 20th century. He is known as a painter, graphic artist, book illustrator, restorer of easel and monumental painting, theater artist and decorator. He is a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine and the National Union of Theater Workers of Ukraine, in 2015 he received the honorary title of "People's Artist of Ukraine". His works are kept in many museum and gallery collections, private collections in Ukraine and abroad. He is a participant in numerous all-Ukrainian and international exhibitions. The artist's creative work includes hundreds of personal exhibitions.
    In 2017, Mykola Prokopenko's personal exhibitions were presented in Kropyvnytskyi at the "Yelysavethrad" gallery and the regional art museum, now the art museum.
    An interesting interview with Mykola Prokopenko was filmed at the Yelysavetgrad Gallery for journalist Maria Larchenko's TV show "The Power of Talent", which aired on February 4, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IukjBvWRuBY
    At the same time, the artist also visited the Oleksandr Osmerkin Art Memorial Museum, and in the following 2018, with the assistance of the owner of the Gallery "Yelysavethrad", Mykola Tsukanov, he transferred to the museum collection more than fifty graphic miniatures from 1985- 1998, which were exhibited in 2020 at the exhibition "Graphic Miniatures of Mykola Prokopenko" as part of the museum art project "Laureates of the Regional Prize in the Field of Fine Arts and Art History named after Oleksandr Osmerkin", because the artist became the laureate of the prize in 2018 in the nomination "modern tendencies".
    Given his advanced age, Mykola Prokopenko was not present at the opening, but during a telephone conversation with the museum director Vita Chernova, he sincerely thanked for the exhibition of his graphic works and conveyed his greetings to the admirers of his work, among whom were many young artists and musicians, because on the day of the exhibition opening, another artistic event was taking place in the museum - the musical and artistic event "Art unites", dedicated to the International Music Day (October 1) and the Artist's Day (October 13) with the participation of students and teachers of the H.Neuhaus Music School No. 1 and the O.Osmerkin Art School.
    The exhibition of the People's Artist of Ukraine Mykola Prokopenko "VIVAT LIFE" aroused considerable interest among visitors, especially among Kropyvnytskyi artists and musicians, as well as guests of our city from Poland, in particular, a professor at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, vice-chairman of the Karol Szymanowski Music Days festival, chairwoman of the Karol Szymanowski Society in Zakopane, laureate of international music competitions pianist Joanna Domanska, who came to Kropyvnytskyi for the XXII Polish-Ukrainian Festival "Autumn with the Music of Karol Szymanowski", the artistic director of which is the director of the Karol Szymanowski Museum of Musical Culture and the head of the NGO "Association of Poles "Polonia" named after Karol Szymanowski" Oleksandr Poliachok. After all, the art of the talented artist, People's Artist of Ukraine Mykola Prokopenko, is full of life-affirming content and is marked by spirituality and faith in the victory of good over evil, harmony over chaos, beauty over ugliness, wisdom over ignorance.