Needed, perhaps, God's gift to create beautiful things from clay

25 November 2025 year in the Chernihiv regional historical museum named after. VV. Tarnovsky, the exhibition "Needed, perhaps, God's gift to create beautiful things from clay...", dedicated to the centenary of Ivan Ivanovich Bibik, a well-known potter, заслуженого майстра народної творчості (1987), члена Національної спілки майстрів народного мистецтва України (1991).

Народився майстер 25 November 1925 year in Oleshna - an ancient pottery center of Chernihiv Oblast in a family of hereditary potters. Like many compatriots, з юних літ долучився до гончарної справи. The boy was sixteen, when the German-Soviet war began, who took her father and brother. He fought his way to Berlin. Only in 1947 got a year off. Came home, burned out his mother's stove for cooking dishes for a living, and again - to the army.

Demobilized 1950 year, got married. For some time he worked at the Vasylkiv majolica factory and eventually returned to his native village. The work in Vasylkov left its mark on the master's subsequent work, in addition to traditional tableware, he created thematic compositions, Sculpture, and also decorated his products with painting, overlay relief details, etc. Ivan Ivanovych experimented a lot, was looking for new forms and methods of decorating products. His greatest merit is the trial-and-error restoration of smokehouse manufacturing technology (smoky, blackened) ceramics. These dark gray products, decorated with a glittering ornament, were presented for the first time 1985 of the year at the exhibition in the Museum of Folk Decorative Art of the Chernihiv region - department of the Chernihiv Historical Museum.

The works of Ivan Bibik are kept in the National Museum of Ukrainian Folk Art (Kyiv), The National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Pottery (Opishnia), National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life (Kyiv), Chernihiv Regional Art Museum named after Grigory Galahan, Ripky Historical and Local History Museum. Many of the artist's works adorn the homes of private individuals.

Чернігівський обласний історичний музей ім. VV. Tarnovskyi has an important collection of Ivan Bibik's works, which accrues 142 units. The exhibition represents 35 робіт майстра, who passed away at the age of ninety-seven 27 February 2022 year.

The Chernihiv Regional Center of Folk Art participated in the preparation and holding of the event.

At the ceremonial opening of the exhibition, except for the people of Chernihiv, the Dobryan settlement territorial community took part, fellow countrymen, colleagues, relatives of the jubilee.

We thank the daughters Neolina Supronenko and Lilia Kobzar, who donated two of their father's works to the museum.

Senior researcher Svitlana Lykhacheva