Win Pe is one of Myanmar’s most celebrated living artists. Along with his close friends Kin Maung Yin and Paw Oo Thet, Win Pe was a leader of Myanmar’s modern art movement in the 1960s. Born on June 16, 1935, in Mandalay, British Burma, he has made significant contributions to the art scene in Myanmar.

Win Pe’s artistic journey began in Mandalay, the historical and cultural capital of Myanmar. His father, Shwepy U Ba Tin, a renowned scholar of Myanmar art, history, and culture, supported Win Pe’s artistic development. Despite his father’s preference for traditional Myanmar music, Win Pe discovered American Jazz and European classical music through Radio Ceylon and American movies. He apprenticed with the successful painter Ba Thet and later studied modernist, more abstract art trends under Kin Maung (Bank). The work of Dong Kingman, a Chinese American watercolorist and instructor at the Famous Artist School, greatly influenced Win Pe.

In the early 1960s, Win Pe and Paw Oo Thet moved to Rangoon, where they met Kin Maung Yin, an artist and architect. The three artists lived together, exchanged ideas, painted collaboratively, and held exhibitions, especially among the diplomatic community. Win Pe’s vision to blend modern ideas with traditional arts led to his appointment as Dean of the Mandalay State School of Fine Art, Music, and Dance in 1966. However, his progressive approach clashed with the conservative teaching staff, and he left after four years. Subsequently, Win Pe pursued a successful career as a film director and short story writer. His film “Let the Sky Not Fall” received acclaim, and in 1981, he won Myanmar’s equivalent of the Academy Awards for Best Director with his film “Red Rose Dream.” Additionally, three of Win Pe’s short stories were published in the book “Inked Over, Ripped Out” in 1993.

Win Pe’s multifaceted talents span painting, filmmaking, and literature, making him a prominent figure in Myanmar’s cultural landscape. His contributions continue to inspire and shape the country’s artistic expression.