Volodymyr Melnychenko and Ada Rybachuk met in their third year of study at the Kyiv Art Institute.
In 1954, they did their pre-graduation practice together on the Barents Sea, after which they never parted and lived together for more than 50 years, until Ada Rybachuk's death in 2010. In tandem, they prepared the decoration of iconic Kyiv locations, including the Palace of Children and Youth, the Central Bus Station, and the Bykivnia Graves memorial complex.
Ada Rybachuk and Volodymyr Melnychenko worked exceptionally well-coordinated, as if they were one person. After Ada's death in 2010, Volodymyr continued to use the word “we” when talking about their work. It is believed that in the Rybachuk-Melnychenko tandem, it was Ada who played the “first violin,” but today it is probably impossible to distinguish the authorship of a particular sketches' motif and embodiment of them on the walls.
Their monumental work did not correspond to the canons of social realism: they were dissidents, and their projects, including illustrations for books, were not accepted for publication, and the project of the memorial to the victims of Babyn Yar was considered unworthy of implementation. They responded to all this with openness and, obviously, creativity: space, dishes, attire, lithographs, communication, and friendly feasts – everything was depicted with emphasized elegance and stylistic sharpness.
Ada’s works were characterized by a black-and-white palette with touches of color, while Volodymyr’s were distinguished by polychromy.
In the Ukrainian dissidence they became participants of the resistance, but not victims – they emerged as victors in another kind of confrontation that lasted for decades.
The museum-workshop of Ada Rybachuk and Volodymyr Melnychenko was opened in May 2024, where visitors can both contemplate the artists' works and try their creative talents by painting or sculpting something.