Aung Kyaw Htet Biography

Myaungmya, Burma, 1965 -

ESTABLISHED Burmese artist, Aung Kyaw Htet's work emphasizes exceptional FIGURATIVE details.

Trained at the State School of Fine Arts in Rangoon, the artist is a devout Buddhist and grew up in a small village -- two factors which have a strong influence on his art. His paintings of religious life in Burma show monks and nuns in a realistic manner, though non-essential objects are omitted from the paintings in order to focus on the religious aspects. Aung Kyaw Htet paints the faces of monks and nuns in great detail to show their humanity. This is in contradiction to most Burmese artists such as Min Wae Aung and Myint Swe, who usually omit facial details to focus on religion rather than human individuals. Aung Kyaw Htet's use of bright colours is attractive and draws the viewer's attention to the serenity in the paintings.

He has participated in several exhibitions in Burma, and also recently in Thailand (2002) and Singapore (2003).