Min Wae Aung

Min Wae Aung’s subject matter remains steadfastly consistent. Against gently graduated backdrops, Burmese monks and nuns tread ever forward, their backs to the viewer. These serene paintings have been widely exhibited internationally and are held in the collections of the Singapore Art Museum, the National Museum of Myanmar, and the Fukuoka Art Museum. Born in Danubyu, Myanmar, Aung studied landscape and portrait painting at Yangon’s State School of Fine Arts. He combines those two genres to create his signature subject matter, employing the vivid, warm color palettes traditional to the monks’ garb. Aung rarely reveals the faces of his subjects. This choice, the artist explains, is part of the works’ meditative quality. He describes their forward motion as “leaving humanity behind” for “a peaceful place, like Nirvana.”