Golden Pagodas

Maung Theid Dhi, Golden Pagodas, Acrylic & Strings on canvas
91x76cm, 2011
Maung Theid Dhi (b.1950–2019)
Maung Theid Dhi was born in 1950 in Shwebo, Sagaing, and is recognized as one of Myanmar’s
pioneering minimalist artists. He studied at the State School of Fine Arts, where formal training
centered mainly on traditional realism. Seeking broader artistic expression, he later embraced
modernism under the guidance of celebrated artists Paw Oo Thett and Khin One. From them, he
learned the power of simplification and the art of expressing deeper intent through form and line.
In 1974, Maung Theid Dhi joined fellow artists Kyee Myint Saw, San Minn, and Win Pe Myint
in founding the Wild Eye Group, a groundbreaking collective that has since held more than
twenty exhibitions exploring modern and contemporary art in Myanmar.
Throughout his career, Maung Theid Dhi remained a bold and uncompromising voice. His works, often seen as critical of authority, led to multiple arrests during Myanmar’s years of strict censorship. In 1974, he was imprisoned for a self-portrait symbolizing oppression; in 1976, again
for politically charged imagery; and in 2000, he endured two and a half years in Insein Prison for
portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi.
His distinctive style — defined by geometric forms, refined outlines, and the use of string to
introduce texture and tension — continued to evolve throughout his life. Maung Theid Dhi’s
work has been featured in over ninety exhibitions both in Myanmar and abroad. In 2022, his
Untitled (oil on teak board, 1973) was acquired by the British Museum for its permanent
collection and shown at Burma to Myanmar Exhibition at the British Museum from 2 November
2023 to 11 February 2024.
Maung Theid Dhi passed away in 2019 in Yangon. His legacy endures through his art, which
continues to inspire new generations, and through the collection preserved at Nawaday Tharlar
Gallery in Yangon.
Golden Pagodas
In this work from his Golden Pagodas series, Maung Theid Dhi invites us into a world of quiet
devotion. The rhythmic architecture of pagodas, rendered in radiant gold, rises like a sacred
horizon — a symbol of peace and spiritual grounding.
Against this luminous backdrop, the gentle figures of monks in deep red robes move in silence.
Their presence evokes the calm of daily ritual, where each step becomes a meditation, each
breath a prayer.
For Maung Theid Dhi, this series was not simply an artistic pursuit but a spiritual practice — a
reflection of the serenity he found in monastic life and the timeless beauty of Myanmar’s sacred
landscape. Through form, color, and repetition, he transforms stillness into light.