Ivan Buryachok (1877-1936) was born in the village of Lozuvata (now Lypovata district, Vinnytsia region, Ukraine). He received his artistic education at the Kyiv Drawing School of Mykola Murashko and the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1906, together with Fotii Krasytskyi and Opanas Slastion, he founded the magazine Shershen, where he published caricatures. In 1906-1918, he worked as an artist (from 1912 - chief artist) at the Mykola Sadovskyi Theatre in Kyiv.
Ivan Buriachok received his artistic education at the Kyiv Drawing School of Mykola Murashko. In 1896, he entered the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts. During his successful studies at the Academy (he graduated in 1903), Buryachok received several silver medals. At the end of 1905, together with Fotii Krasicki and Opanas Slastion, he founded the satirical illustrated magazine "Shershen". By 14 July 1906, 26 issues had been published. Most of Buryachok's works published in "Shershen" reflected his ability to theatrically build mise-en-scene in multi-figure compositions.
In 1906, Mykola Sadovskyi, the director and organiser of the first stationary Ukrainian theatre in Kyiv, invited the artist to create a design for the play "Sava Chaly" based on the play by Ivan Karpenko-Kary. At that time, Buryachok's works in the Shershnya and paintings were successfully exhibited at art exhibitions in Kyiv and Lviv. In 1912, Buriachok became the chief artist of the Mykola Sadovskyi Theatre. The stationary nature of the theatre's work made it possible to complicate the scenery.At the artist's initiative, the theatre's repertoire was replenished with new works. In 1911, Lesia Ukrainka gave the artist the opportunity to get acquainted with the manuscript of The Forest Song. He creates a graphic series of costumes for the play's characters, which are kept in the collection of the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine: Mavka, Forest Grandfather, and Kuts. Unfortunately, Lesya Ukrainka's play was never performed in Sadovsky's theatre.
In 1912, Sadovsky staged the play "Enchanted Circle" based on the play by the Polish playwright L. Rydel, with music by O. Kosyts. Buryachko's scenic scenery was noted by almost all reviewers, as well as the stage effects used in the play.
Mykola Sadovsky also involved the outstanding composer Mykola Lysenko, with whom Buryachko had close creative and family ties, to active work in the theater. Subtle musical taste and understanding of Lysenko's work helped the artist to create artistic design for the operas "Drowned" (1913) and "Christmas Night" (1916).
The production of the fantastic musical comedy "Eyelash" with music by M. Kropyvnytskyi was carried out at the initiative of I. Buriachko and choirmaster O. Koshyts. As a director, Koshyts somewhat improved the choirs and the score of M. Kropyvnytskyi, instead of the Bursat choir, he added an old cant. The artist I. Buryachok gave the production a Kyiv flavor. The events took place in Podil, and Buryachok depicted the architecture of the gates of the Bratsky Monastery in the scenery, and also installed the famous statue of the Samson fountain on the stage.
In the Mykola Sadovsky Theater, Ivan Buryachok designed the plays: "Earth" by S. Cherkasenko, directed by I. Maryanenko (1912), "On the first roars" by S. Vasylchenko, directed by I. Maryanenko (1912), "Enchanted Circle" by L . , directed by M. Sadovskyi (1912), "The Stove Owner" by Lesia Ukrainka, directed by M. Starytska and H. Matkovskyi (1914), "Eyelash" by M. Kropyvnytskyi, directed by O. Koshyts (1914), "The Tale of the Old Mill" by S. Cherkasenko, director M. Sadovskyi (1914), "Terrible Revenge" by S. Cherkasenko, director M. Sadovskyi (1914), "Christmas Night" by M. Lysenko, director M. Sadovskyi, conductor O. Koshyts (1916).
In January 1919, Mykola Sadovskyi and part of the troupe went first to Vinnytsia, and later to Kamianets-Podilskyi. Ivan Buryachok lived in Vinnytsia until 1922, when a theater from part of Sadovsky's troupe was organized in the Vinnytsia People's House. The artist designed a number of performances here, including "Katherina" by T. Shevchenko, "The Auditor" by M. Gogol, "Courting on Goncharivka" by H. Kvitka-Osnovyanenko, "The Sorochyn Fair" by M. Gogol and "Zaporozhets by the Danube" S. Hulak-Artemovskyi.
In 1922, the artist returned to Kyiv, where theatrical and artistic life began to recover, and began to cooperate with a theater group called the Theater of the Trinity People's House. Later he collaborated with the theater named after Maria Zankovetska in Kyiv, where in the season of 1922–1923 he designed plays: "Mischief" by H. Khotkevich, directed by B. Romanytskyi, "Robbiynyk Karmelyuk" by L. Starytska-Chernyakhivska, directed by B. Romanytskyi, "Black Council" by S. Cherkasenko P. Kulishem, directed by O. Korolchuk, "Robbieniki" by F. Schiller, directed by P. Saksagansky and "The Last Night" by M. Starytskyi, directed by O. Korolchuk. In 1922, he designed the play "Haydamaki" based on the staging of Les Kurbas.
In the last years of his life, Ivan Buryachok periodically worked in the field of theatrical painting. His son, artist Mykola Buryachok, helped the artist in his work. Buryachok performed his last scenographic work at the Trinity People's House. It was the operetta "Vii" by M. Gogol, performed on the stage of the Kyiv Theater of Musical Comedy in 1936.
In 1905, the artist received his first public recognition: his paintings were exhibited in Lviv at the "Exhibition of Ukrainian Artists". In addition to landscape sketches, Buryachok is the author of a number of portraits, in particular the portrait of Mykola Lysenko, 1910.
The works of Ivan Buriachko are exhibited in the Museum of Theater, Music and Film Arts of Ukraine in the exposition of the archival and analytical exhibition "Creative Deconstruction".
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