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Because of political restrictions, Myanmar art for the most part does not express social commentary in the same overt way as does the best contemporary Chinese or Thai art. Instead one sees social or political commentary in performance work held in small private galleries to an invitation-only audience.
This limitation in subject matter tends to tip the scale to the aesthetic side, resulting in incredibly beautiful works of bold line and color – some totally abstract, others referencing traditional Myanmar subject matter executed in modernist or contemporary modes.
Gold Leaf concerns itself with art work in three categories.
Digital Photography. Some of the most innovative work being done in Myanmar today is in the area of digitally mixed and manipulated photography. Some of the work is entirely aesthetically informed, while others push social commentary boundaries using a surrealist idiom.
Work on Paper. In addition to those artists who work in watercolor or charcoal on paper, exceptional work is being done in pastel on paper. Another artist uses paper cut-outs to create innovative, contemporary and playful compositions of striking design.
Painting. Boldly colored works with striking composition comprise this category, usually executed in acrylic on canvas, paper collage or silkscreen on canvas.
