Boris Nesterenko

Boris Nesterenko was born in Pinsk (town in the Russian Empire, the Republic of Belarus today). From 1921 to 1939, Pinsk was part of the Second Polish Republic. His father headed Gomel steam engine repair workshops (founded in 1874 as the steam engine wagon repair workshops of Libau-Romny railway). The large family had nine children: the younger ones, twins Boris and Gleb, became artists.

In 1934, they joined Vitebsk People’s Art School, the art school associated with such famous artists as Marc Chagall, and his teacher Yehuda Pen, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Kazimir Маlevich, Ivan Puni, Robert Falk and many other.

After graduating from the Art College in 1939 by recommendation of his teachers Boris Nesterenko entered the Leningrad Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, but did not get a chance to study since he was called up for military service in the same year to serve as a tank commander. Subsequently he moved to the BSSR as a paratroop drop where he organized a partisan party and conducted diversions on communications of the German fascist invaders. Boris Nesterenko was the commissar of partisan detachment in Belarus, Baranovichi region.

After the war he worked as the Head of Regional Department of Arts in Baranovichi and was a member of the BSSR Union of Artists. In 1950 he moved to Kyiv, and from that time on Ukraine became the main subject of his art and life. He participated in decorations of the All Union Agricultural Exhibition, worked for the Kyiv Partnership of Artists and Kyiv Regional Branch of the Artistic Fund of Ukraine.

The Artist, participant of World War II, was awarded by many orders and medals.

Boris Nesterenko is a professional two dimensional artist rated 3B (according to the United Art Rating, one of instruments of the civilized art-market formation) widely recognized by public and the art market. In his works, Boris Nesterenko combined elements of the traditional soviet, Ukrainian and Belarusian art schools, academic social realism and the so-called “soviet impressionism”.

He worked in different genres of the easel painting - including marine and municipal landscape. He also painted old Kyiv. Some of his subject include scenes of Vydubichi, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also cultural Sedniv, the location of the Art Centre of Ukrainian Artists. Many landscapes of Sedniv are depicted in works of a well-known Ukrainian painter Tetyana Yablonska. Apart from landscapes he has paointed a number of portraits in various genres such as historical (specifically, Leniniana), genre-art, life-genre, as well as social realism and soviet impressionism, in oils, tempera, and pencil. Chronology of his works covers 50es – 80es of the 20th century.

Boris Nesterenko was the participant of many republican and all-union exhibitions. His works are in funds of Donetsk Art Museum (“Partisan” 1971, “Evening Desna” 1972), Khmelnitsky Regional Museum (“In Hard War Years” 1974), Kramatorsk Art Museum («Still Life» 1979) etc. His paintings are also found in private collections, galleries, collections of such institutions as universities, institutes, banks, libraries: “Dnepr Subway Station” 1964, “Foreman” 1972, “In the Artist̓̓’s Workshop” 1975, “Inspiration” ( ”Tchaykoffski Working“) 1976, «On Old Roads» 1977, “Fields Leftwards and Fields Rightwards” 1985, “Enchantress” 1986, «Dnepr Distances» 1987, “Dnipro High Water” 1987, “Our Plan Worked” 1988, etc. “Hard Tasks” 1956, “Guard”, and other paintings were sold on foreign auctions of France, Italy and other countries.

After the artist’s death, a personal exhibition of his picturesque paintings was held in Kyiv House of Artist.

In the 90es, a lot of his works were taken abroad by gallerists and their tracks were lost forever. In the centennial of his birth, the retrospective exhibition of his works was arranged in the Ivan Kavaleridze Studio-Museum.