Myint Swe was born in Taungoke, Rakhine State, Myanmar, in 1956 He studied at the State School of Fine Arts between 1975 and 1977. He later studied painting under S Tin Shwe for twenty years. He also studied under U Lun Gwye, one of Myanmar's most noted modern-day painters and in the typical Myanmar tradition honours the critique and advice from other artists such as U Mya Aye, U Myat Kyaw and Daw Tin Tin San – all of whom were his teachers at the State School of Fine Arts and at the Yangon University Art Association. His work has also been strongly influenced by the paintings and philosophies of U Thein Han, one of the most important pioneers of Myanmar modern painting practices. He established Vision Art Gallery in Yangon as a platform for his art, though it is now defunct.
Read MoreThavibu Gallery is pleased to present the collection of political paintings, “Burma: The Quiet Violence,” by Myint Swe. The collection features 38 paintings executed between 1995-2005 that reflect the artist’s concerns about the detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the discouraging socio-political environment in Burma. The paintings were secretly transported to Bangkok where they have been stored for some years, and now the time has come to put them on public display. Myint Swe has participated in more than fifty exhibitions in Burma and has had shows in Thailand in 1999, 2001 and 2002. In 2004, he participated in the international exhibition Identities vs. Globalisation at the Chiang Mai Art Museum and the Dahlem Art Museum in Berlin.
