His acquaintance with Vudon Baklytsky in 1963 grew into a close friendship and creative partnership: together they painted studies and co-founded the art association New Bent, which organized informal exhibitions in the most unexpected, unconventional venues (such as an abandoned brick factory).
Trehub attended an art studio at the Bolshevik Factory House of Culture, led by painter and sculptor Hryhorii Khusid. Later he worked as a set decorator at the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Kyiv Film Studio, where, despite often doing heavy labor, he valued access to scarce paints, which he also used in his own work.
The artist mainly painted on fiberboard or cardboard, using oil, though he occasionally turned to other techniques, including collage. At the core of his art was the principle of freedom of self-expression, the search for his own themes, imagery, and unique pictorial language. Trehub’s works stood in stark contrast to the art exhibited officially in those years.Taking a position as an artist at the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (located on the grounds of the Vydubychi Monastery — an image that became central in his work), he deepened his knowledge of Ukrainian history and culture through colleagues and new friends. He had planned a private “apartment exhibition” at the home of Yurii Smyrnyi, but it was dismantled by State Security Committee (KGB) officers during preparations. His next two solo shows were staged “under the guise of amateur art” and remained almost inaccessible to the broader art community.
Personal hardships increasingly affected his mental and emotional state, leading him at one point to attempt to destroy all his works. He underwent treatment at the Pavlov Psychiatric Hospital. In 1984, he died by suicide.
Works by Mykola Trehub are preserved in the National Art Museum of Ukraine, as well as in private collections in Ukraine and abroad.