Natalia Rybak (born August 30, 1958, Popovo-Balivka, now Balivka, Dnipro district) is a master of Petrykivka painting and Honored Master of Folk Art of Ukraine (1999). She is a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (since 1989) and the National Union of Folk Art Masters of Ukraine (since 1991). She is the wife of fellow master Mykola Rybak.
Education
She graduated from Petrykivka Vocational School No. 79 (1978); in 1981 she studied privately under Andriy Pikush.
Work
She worked at the “Druzhba” factory (1979–1981) and the Experimental Workshop (1981–1991); since 1991 at the Petrykivka Folk Art Center. She creates ornamental and narrative compositions in egg tempera, gouache, and acrylic, using handmade cat-hair brushes. Recurring images include the Tree of Life, the All-Seeing Eye, and Cossack Mamay; her favorite composition is a “rug” motif with viburnum, poppies, and sunflowers. Notable works: the panels “Bird Chatter,” “Motria and Mazepa,” “Little House,” “Blooming Bush.”
Recognition
Holder of the Order of Princess Olga, 3rd class (2011), laureate of the Danylo Shcherbakivsky Prize (2009), and the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine (2025, jointly with Valentyna Karpets-Yermolaieva, Andriy, and Maria Pikush). She has exhibited since 1980, including the Days of Ukrainian Culture in Canada (1993) and Poland, World Expo 2005 in Nagoya, and the Jagiellonian Fair in Lublin.
Collections
Her works are held in the National Museum of Decorative Art, the Dnipro Art Museum, the Zaporizhzhia Art Museum, and the Ukrainian Museum of Canada in Saskatoon.
