Exhibitions

Yan Naing Tun was born in 1979, the third son in his family, and brought up in a small fishing village. After finishing high school, he moved to Yangon and entered The University of Culture in 1998, earning a B.A (Painting) degree in 2002. Now he is living in Yangon working as a professional artist.

He participated in his first group show in Yangon in 2004 and since then he has been involved in a series of exhibitions in Myanmar. River Gallery – Myanmar's leading contemporary gallery – started representing him in 2008. He gained 'Special Prize' for the best of the year in Myanmar's annual Tun Foundation Art Competition in 2009.

This current monochrome series has resonated with collectors from around the world, with its poignant scenes from everyday life in Yangon. The works capture people in the most humdrum circumstances – in the teashop, at the bus-stop, waiting at the hospital. Yan Naing Tun's artistic imagination subtly alters this reality, rendering it in monochrome, which banishes the banal and makes us look at these everyday scenes afresh.

Talking about his current series, Yan Naing Tun says, "I use the green colour to give the audience fresh ideas which will let them have an extraordinary feeling when they look at my paintings. The texture supports the subjects and backgrounds, and the figures are distorted which aims to let people see a different reality. I want people to feel a sense of peace, calmness, stability and tranquility.

"I want the audience to extend their imagination when they look at the paintings, even though I am showing scenes from everyday life: for example, people on trains, at teashops, the daily lives of monks, people in hospitals, people on ferries. I want my paintings to show how we are always waiting - for something."