Shmatko Nicolai Gavrilovich, King of marble, professor, was born and is creating his works in Ukraine. He has two sons who take part in his making different author's projects.

In the course of his development of an artist, without state's and sponsors' help, he has created more than 750 monuments (bas-relieves, high-relieves, sculptures) and about 500 paintings. The author's collection, exhibited in the gallery "Shmatko & Sons", being a unique one in the world, more than 70 sculptures made of Ural and Italian marble and about 300 paintings (pictures, drawings).

In 2000 Shmatko got a chair of professor of Moscow Institute "Universal Civilizations".

In 2004 after long negotiations of Donetsk region authorities and Svyatogorskaya Lavra Superior, he was intrusted with creating a marble sculpture of Svyatogorskaya Blessed Virgin. In autumn, after the restoration, Lavra was opened and the visitors could see the sculpture of Blessed Virgin 4 metres 20 cm height. The sculpture is made of two blocks of Ural marble weight 40 tons.

Mitropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine Vladimir decorated Nicolai Shmatko with the third degree order of Nestor Chronicler for his contribution in Orthodox Church formation and creating the sculpture of Blessed Virgin.

In autumn 2005 Uspenskaya church in village Keleberda in Poltava region was opened and Shmatko's sculpture "Christ's Crucifixion" was placed there.