Nikolay Ivanovich Taranda is a Belarusian painter and a graphic artist, member of the Belarusian Union of Artists.
He was born on 15 August, 1947 in Velikoye Podlesye village, Lyakhovichi region, Brest oblast. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine and Graphic Arts of Vitebsk Pedagogical Institute (1965-1970)
He was the Head of the visual arts studio at the House of Culture of «Krasniy Oktyabr» factory in Orsha, the Head of Industrial Design Bureau (1970-1994). In 1984-1985 he participated in the creation of the monument to the city of Baran’ residents, victims of the Great Patriotic War.
Nikolay Taranda paid great attention to self-education, worked in the studio and in plein-airs both during his studies and after his graduation. During his art trips to Lithuania, Kupala’s sites, to the Crimea, Vladimir and Suzdal (including art trips with his mentor, Oleg Orlov) the artist mastered and perfected his own unique style of painting. His trips to Senezh House of Arts (in 1977 and 1983) made a significant impact on the development of his graphic arts talent and mastering new techniques.
Nikolay Taranda’s first personal exhibition was opened in Orsha in 1973. He became a member of the USSR Union of Artists in 1989.
Since 1994 he has fully dedicated himself to creative work. His personal and collective exhibitions are held at the Palace of Arts, the National Centre for Modern Arts, Catholic Church of St. Simeon and St. Helena (Minsk), at the exhibition halls in Vitebsk, Polotsk and Orsha, in Vyazma and Smolensk. The artist’s participation in the international plein airs in Pernik (Bulgaria) in 1999 and 2004 inspired him to create the series of formal works.
Nikolay Taranda is a regular participant of national and international plein-airs and master classes, a co-organizer of an international Art Project «Collegium» at V.A.Gromyko Orsha City Art Gallery. Since 2010 he has cooperated with «Tradition» Arts Association of the Belarusian Union of Artists on an ongoing basis.
He lives and works in the city of Baran’.
The works of the artist are displayed in the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, the National Centre for Modern Art (Minsk), Yanka Kupala State Literature Museum, Art Gallery of Pernik Palace of Arts (Bulgaria), Smolensk State Institute of Arts (the Russian Federation), Vitebsk Museum of Regional Studies, V.A. Gromyko Orsha City Art Gallery, Orsha City History and Culture Museum, Polotsk Art Gallery. His works are in private collections in Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and the USA.