• 30 Born on 24th of September, 1930 by U Ba Khaing and Daw Own Thwin in Yangon. Alternative name in young age was Nyi Nyi or Nyi Lay.
• 1940 Took interest in Art ever since 10 years of age. Used to sketch on the back of the school books till the lecture pages and the drawings met in the middle of the book.
• 1936-41 Studied primary and post-primary education in Yangon.
• 1942 Refuged to Mu Don, Maw La Myaing from Yangon during WWII as a refugee. Studied at Shin Arahan Post-primary School and Old AVM Post-primary Missionary school.
• 1947 Invested himself in Art right after finishing 7th grade of education. Studied water color art under watercolorist U Chit Maung in Yangon.

1947-48 Studied poster art under mentor U Thar Lwin and advertisement art under mentor U Hla Maung in Maw La Myaing.

• 1948-1953 Started drawing posters, advertisement arts, signboards and car metal plates in Mu Don along with the 1-year business of photography.
• 1954-55 Studied art theories as an art apprentice under mentor U Thet Win at Kambe Teachers Training Institute, Yangon.
• 1955-57 Started working as a child art mentor at AVM Post-primary school, Mu Don.
• 1958 Was voted as an art mentor position for 1 year before reselected as a permanent art mentor at State School of Fine Art, Yangon.
• 1958-59 Painted 20 paintings of the life of the very first head monk who lived at Jone Jone Kya Taw Ya monastery, Mu Don when going by the name Nyi Lay.
• 1958-63 Met another mentor U Thein Han at SSFA who was the student of Great Artist U Ba Nyan. Got a great chance of living 5 years with him and studied Fine Art in wide scope from U Thein Han.
• 1962-64 Selected as the permanent member artist by the Board of judges of the Literature and Art exhibition (Sarbay Bateman) and became a well-known fine art artist. Took parts in several magazines covers and designs.
• 1964-65 Studied Eastern Art and oil medium methods at Central Art Institute, Beijing, Republic of China for 2 years as a cultural exchange student. Became fluent with the Chinese art workmanships afterwards. Passed the exam with the distinctions.
• 1968 Lectured the Art association of Art and Science university together with U Thein Han from 1968 till 1979.
• 1972 Studied restoration art of Impression paintings at East Berlin, Germany for 1 years as a cultural exchange student and became familiar with the Impressionism.
• 1977 Worked as a head mister of YSSFA and conducted the 25th ceremony of YSSFA successfully.
• 1979 Retired from Yangon State School of Fine Arts.
• 1980-87 Managed the annual show rooms of the Ministry of Mines and Myanmar Jewelry Corporation.
• 1987 Established the Golden Velley Art Centre, Yangon together with U Myint Lwin who was his pupil also known as artist Tazar Lin.
• 1989-90 Depicted Buddha’s History of 3 rooms in Shwedagon Pagoda compound.
• 1990 Worked as an art instructor for the foreign community in Yangon. (1990-97)
• 1991 Painted the Victory of Buddha over Mara at Mahar Wizaya pagoda, Yangon.
• 1990-98 Started out as a member artist at Golden Velley Art Centre and exhibited the artworks and became full time artist.
• 1999 Established Artist Life Art Gallery in November with family.
• 2002 Depicted 30 artworks of Buddha’s history all around the inner part of the Shwedagon pagoda replica in Kushinaga, India.
• 1999-2019 Holding many solo and annual art exhibitions at ALAG till now.

AWAWARDS

• Graduated with distinction for Easten Art in the People’s Rebuplic of China (1964)
• Award of Honour, Niagarafrontier
• Watercolour Society, New York U.S.A(1990)
• Doctor of letters (Honoris Causa) by Naional Unibersity of Art and Culture, (Ministery of Culture) (2014)
• Pride of Myanmar, award for susess in Art, the whole life by chief minister of Yangon Region

Achievements ACHIVEMENTS

• Studied Eastern Art in the People’s Rebublic of China (1964)
• Restoration of painting East Germany (1972)
• Prize Winner, Watercolour contest, New York( 1992)
• “Gallery Watch” Tasmania
• “Golden Flight” Magazine, Air Mandalay (1995)
• “Asia Business” Magazine (1995)
• Art Show at the Hotel Intercontinental, Singapore (Oct, 1995)
• Asian Art News July/Aug(2001)
• Vol. 48. April/May (2006)
• International Artist Magazine.

Solo Exhibitions in Local

• Solo Show National Museum, Yangon, Myanmar, 24th Jan to Feb, 2nd 2000
• 75 Years Old Life, Diamond Jubilee Art Exhibition (2005) (Artist Life Art Gallery)
• Blossom of Spring Art Exhibition 2006 (Yangon)
• 80 Years Old Life, Special Solo Show 2009 (Artist Life Art Gallery)
• My Golden Dancer (2012) (Yangon)
• Donation, Watercolor Exhibition (2013) (Yangon)
• 85 Years Old life, special water colour showe(2015) (Artist life Art Gallery)
• 86 Years Old life special solo showe (2016) (Artist Life Art Gallery)
• The Grand Collections Art Exhibition (2018, May) (Artist Life ArtGallery)

FAMILY ART EXHIBITIONS

• The 1st Grand Art Stream, (Lun Family Art Exhibiiton)

(2007, Yangon) (U Lun Gywe, Wife, Son, Daughter in law, Grand Daughter, Grand Son)

• The 2nd Grand Art Stream (Lun Family Art Exhibition)

(2009, Yangon)

• The 3rd Grand Art Stream (Lun Family Art Exhibition)

(2010, Yangon)

• The 4th Grand Art Stream

(Lun Family Art Exhibition) (2011, Yangon)

• The 5th Grand Art Stream (Lun Family Art Exhibition)

(2017, Yango)

Family artists

• Lun Mya Mya (Wife)
• Lun Thitt (Son)
• Lun Kyaw Yee (Daughter in law)
• Lun Pann Che (Grand Daughter)
• Lun Moe ayan (Grand Son)

Couple exhibition

(a) Grandpa and Grand Daughter Art Exhibition (2004, Yangon)

(b) Smell and Breeze of amazing chaung Tha Sea Beach Special Water Exhibition)

(Artist U Lun Gywe & Artist Lun Mya Mya)

 Oversea Solo Exhibitions

• Emerald Hill Studio, Singapore (2000)
• Thavibu Gallery Bangkok, Thailand (2004)
• Tradition & Modernity in South east asian Art Exhibition New York, U.S.A(2006)
• Fragrance of Myanmar Arts (Art House, Singapore, 2006)
• The Heart Paintings, (Singapore, 2009)
• Mini Art Exhibition (Singapore, 2014)
• Art Fair in Tokyo, Japan (March, 2017)
• Solo Exhibition Ginza, Tokyo, Japan (2017)
• Solo Exhibition Chienkuo Technology University Changhua City, Taiwan (March, 2019)
• Solo Exhibition, Telling Arts Taipei Gallery, Taiwan (May, 2019)
• Solo Exhibition Ginza, Tokyo, Japan (July, 2019)

ART BOOK PUBLISHING BOOK PUBLISHING

• A Master Painter from Myanma (Thavibu Gallery, 2005)
• Artist U Thein Han and His Pupil Artist U Lun Gywe (Artist Life Art Gallery, 2005)
• Artist Collection by Artist U Lun Gywe (2009, Artist Life Art Gallery)
• Fasting the female form of U Lun Gywe (2011, Tharibn Gallery, BKK, Thailand)
• U Lun Gywe, Myanma’s Famous Impressionist Artist (2014, Carmelites Framing & Gallery, Singapore)
• My Water Colour by U Lun Gywe (2016, Artist Life Art Gallery)

Museum collection

• National Museum, Yangon, Myanmar
• National Art Museum, Malaysia
• National Art Museum Singapore

Collection countries

U.S.A, England, France, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Hongkong, Taiwan, Japan, China, Brunie, India, Newzeland, Germany etc …

Born in 1930, U Aye Myint took an early interest in the floral patterns carved into wooden buildings in the ancient capital of Innwa in Mandalay Region and in Sagaing Region and was inspired to become skilled in traditional Myanmar design.

He learnt his craft from veteran Myanmar artists including U Kywe Lay and U Khin Maung (Bank) and began his career in 1954.

In 1970 he was asked by military junta leader Gen. Ne Win to travel to Japan, Germany,

Working at Wazi in Magwe Region, he designed Myanmar currency notes and coins—which were printed with help from German technologies—as well as lottery tickets and stamps.

His designs for the five- and 10-kyat notes became famous among the people, especially as they featured the face of independence hero Gen. Aung San.

After a number of years, however, he was forced to retire as Myanmar’s ruling generals became suspicious of him and accused him of political activism.

“He told us that one of his design failures, and one of the most memorable points of his life as a currency designer, was that the cluster of toddy palm fruits on the five-kyat note faced upward rather than downwards,” said one of his students and disciples Tampawaddy U Wing Maung.

“He said the design and pattern of the note was made in Germany while he was there but due to a rush in the process, he only found the mistake after the notes were printed and distributed.”

After leaving Wazi, U Aye Myint struggled as a designer of traditional Myanmar art in Yangon for about 11 years, often drawing cover designs for Buddhist literary magazines.

“He was a passionate artist who always explained every piece of his art work and design in those magazines. By reading his texts and viewing his art works, readers could learn about traditional Myanmar art and design,” explained Tampawaddy U Win Maung.

After settling down in Amarapura, U Aye Myint’s designs appeared at many Buddhist religious buildings including the ornamentations of the southern stairway of Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda and the golden umbrella of Mandalay’s Maha Muni Buddha Image.

In early 2016, on the day of his 86th birthday, U Aye Myint launched a showcase of his works in Mandalay.

During the exhibition, he launched a book named Ancient Myanmar Designs, a collection of Myanmar traditional arts and designs, which he and the late historian Dr. Than Tun had collected over the space of 50 years.

Until his last days, U Aye Myint worked as a consultant at Saung Dar traditional weaving Academy in Amarapura and a consultant for conservation and restoration works of numerous historical buildings around Mandalay, including Mandalay’s ancient Shwenandaw Kyaung Temple and Amarapura’s famous U Bein Bridge.

“An expert like him should be substituted. However, his disciples will continue to preserve the value of traditional arts and designs and will hand them down to future generations,” said Tampawaddy U Win Maung.

U Aye Myint is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son. His body will be cremated at Taung Inn Myauk Inn cemetery on Wednesday afternoon.

Topics: Art, Culture, Design, U Aye Myint

Shwe Kyaw Lin’s paintings celebrate the Myanmar culture and tradition. With a

whimsical take on the traditional market and festival scenes, his paintings always

feature happy, beaming faces.

(1898–1952) was an early Burmese watercolorist who adopted the Western style of painting and became famous in Burma for his landscape works. He is less known for his portraits, about seven of which have surfaced in recent years. Saya Saung is the only early Western-style painter who has the honorific “Saya” (meaning master) automatically attached to his name, a title generally reserved for the painters of the Traditional School in Burma. In Saya Saung’s case, the honorific may have attached to him because he was from Mandalay, the capital of the fallen Konbaung Dynasty (1752–1885) and the heart of the Traditional arts, where artisans trained rigorously in apprenticeship systems working themselves up gradually to the status of master, or Saya. Saya Saung did not pass through such demanding and subservient rites of passage in his acquisition of talents in Western painting, but once he was recognized as possessing master-level skills, it would have been natural in the cloistered world of Mandalay for the title “Saya” to be applied to his name. 

A limited number of Saya Saung’s landscape works emerged on the art market in Burma in the 1990s and sold off quickly to collectors. During this same period and into the years after 2000, many other paintings surfaced in the UK, corroborating claims that Saya Saung’s work sold well to British colonials. The majority of the works which surfaced in Burma and the UK were of Upper Burma scenes—often of the old Mandalay Palace and moat, Mandalay Hill, boats on the Irrawaddy River, or village scenes. One fascinating portion of Saung’s oeuvre are his little-known portraits. Approximately seven have appeared thus far, but there may be a dozen or two more. But as Saya Saung never signed his paintings with dates, one can only speculate on his periods.

Born : 24.12.1923 at Ma Gyi Dan ward, Sheinn Pa Karr Street, Pyapon, Ayeyarwaddy Division.

Parents : U Khant and Daw Tint.

Siblings : Fifth child among seven siblings.

Education : Passed the English- Myanmar 7^th standard from Saya U Po Chit School.

U San Hlaing was interested in painting since young. But he could not buy pencils, brushes, paints and papers for practicing drawings because of his parents’ poverty. He used to practice drawing on the ground with a stick. He practiced like that again and again. Sometimes, he practiced on the floor and on the window panels.

Then he got a chance to study about paintings under Saya Hmat. In 1938, at the age of 14, he got contact with U Ba Tun (British Burma Films Company) and U Aung Zan (A-1 Films) by his elder brother’s connection. Then, he started drawing film poster and advertisements under the guidance of Artist U Khin Ohn.

Afterwards, he studied under Saya U Thein Nyunt who was an expert in both watercolor and oil paintings, also a well-versed in Myanmar Culture. He received the foundations of Traditional Myanmar Works from Saya U Thein Nyunt. Later, he continued studying under the well-known artist Saya U Ngwe Gaing and Saya U Hla Mg Gyi in Yangon.

Since at the age of 13 and 14, U San Hlaing earned money from painting. He had done odd jobs and from those he supported his parents.

“I worked once as a porter, selling newspaper etc., to earn money. When I got five kyats a month, I can send back those earnings to my parents”, U San Hlaing told one of the interviews.

Although he is a found of reading, he cannot afford to buy books due to his poverty. Therefore, he often visited to the library and making friends with the librarians to borrow the books.

He started joining the Burma Defense Army (BDA) in Pyapon when World War (II) spread to Myanmar. In 1943, his posting was at Yangon War Minister’s Office. He was on sentry duty at the guard post. Later, he was sent to Mingaladon Training Corps (1). He joined the Guerilla (1001) Forces and fought along with brigade (106O in the revolution against the Fascists. He took part in Yangon Conquest Fighting and Sittaung Plataue Fighting. After the war, he went back to Pyapon and continued painting as he used to. In 1946, he joined the armed forces again. He quitted from the armed forces about a year later.   

He joined people’s Comrade Corps, which was led by General Aung San. He became the General Secretary of people’s Comrade Corps in Pyapon. After General Aung San and his colleagues were assassinated in 1947, he joined the Regiment (2) which is led by Officer Bo Min Gaung. He served almost a year as a port of sergeant. Later, he quitted and founded “San Hlaing’s Art Studio” in 27^th Street, Yangon and became a professional artist.

In 27^th. March. 1959, U San Hlaing received Maw Kun Win Award Grade (1) because of his sacrifices to the Burma’s independence. This award was given to 1513 persons and he was one of them.

He got married with Daw Tin Aung in 1947 and had eight children.

U San Hlaing’s Artistic Works

“San Hlaing’s Arts Studio” had founded since 1947, he started his career of drawing all kinds of works from textile painting to trade marks, designs, etc. At that time, the trademarks of popular Pwint Kaung Fish Sauce were designed by U San Hlaing and U Ba Yin Galay competitively.

Most of the film advertisements were drawn by U San Hlaing in the pre-war period. The sizes of those were about 8 x 6 feets and he also drew two-sided posters on the trolley.

Shows and Exhibitions

1956                       : one-man show at Jubilee Hall, Yangon.

1958~59               : severed as a committee member at Burma Artist Union and a chairman was U Ba Khin.

1959                       : one of his painting “Okkala San Daw Shin” became very famous at the Art Exhibition by

                                  the Burma Artist Union @ Sarpay Beikmhan.

1963                       : became an organizer at Art and Sculpture Council while Saya U Ohn Lwin was

                                  a chairman.

(At the Poppa Peasants Seminar, Union Day at Mandalay, Kabaung Peasants Seminar, Chauk Workers

Day, etc.. the historical background posters were drawn by U San Hlaing).

1964                       : served as an artist (first class) at Lanzin News Branch,

                                  Education Department of Myanmar Socialist Programme Party, H/Q and

                                  designed many insignias and emblems for the workers, peasants, youth organizations.

(The most prominent work is designing the National Flag.)

Pann Kyi, was born in Myanmar in 1983. He was a quiet child who likes to draw cartoons or illustrations. He graduated from University of Culture in Yangon from the Department of Painting and obtained B.A. in Painting Honors’ Qualification. When Pann Kyi first encountered the breath-taking beauty of huge bamboo forest at the suburb area of Yangon, which shortly became his most famous and popular motif. Pann Kyi has consistently been attracted by the beauty of nature and especially moved by the figure of trees. He expresses his deep love for nature and his country through his paintings. The basic single theme color, like yellow, green and blue, often represents the seasons of summer, monsoon and winter, respectively. By rich yet pellucid layers of color with a pallet knife, Pann Kyi successfully depicts the serene atmosphere and mysterious depth of the forest space on the canvas. A native forest never shows the same scene every day and night by seasons. 

Pann Kyi, however, attempts to capture the miracle moment and space of nature permanently in the canvas with themed color’s in the artist mind embracing the enigmatic depth of the forest and rays of light filtering through canopies and branches. Often the tiny figures of people and cattle in his paintings disproportionately contrast the imaginary tall trees, which subtly arouse awe in nature. Pann Kyi meditates on a vision of forest beauty. His works represent an ability to seek peace and contentment, even when the leaves change color.

Date of Birth: Born in Thaton Township, Mon State

2006: BA (Painting), Hons, Q

2004: Bud Art Exhibition, Yangon

2007: Establish the Space Art Studio

2008 : Art Tree Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Square collection Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Nargis Donation Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Winter Collection Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Second Art Tree Art Exhibition, Yangon

2009 : Aesthetic Rain Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Myanmar Discovered Through the Painters Eye Art Exhibition, Hong Kong

            Soul of Heart Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Engage with light and color Art Exhibition, Yangon

2010 : Third Art Tree Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Myanmar Art and Culture Lecture and exhibition, Boston, USA

            New beginning, Princeton, USA

            Kayin Art Exhibition, Yangon

            7 Artists Art Exhibition, Yangon

2011 : Passion on Green Solo Exhibition, Yangon

            Five Myanmar Painters Art Exhibition, Kingston, USA

            Three Dimensional Spectrum Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Presentable Space Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Autumnal mists Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Wahso Art Exhibition, Yangon

2012 : Hope Charity art Show, Yangon

            Pure heart Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Big, bigger, biggest Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Magic Water Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Silent Forest and Melodic Water Solo Exhibition, Yangon

2013 : Third Karen Diary Art Exhibition, Yangon

2014 : Fourth Karen Diary Art Exhibition, Yangon

            Sparkle 2014, Volume II, Yangon

            100^th anniversary of general Aung San art Exhibition, Yangon

            Second Silent Forest and Melodic Water Solo Exhibition, Yangon

2015 : Opening of PK Art Studio, group show, Yangon

            Masters of Myanmar Art exhibition, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

            Same but Different Art Exhibition, Yangon.