Po Po Featured in Frieze

2 Sep 2026

Frieze features Po Po, as part of our presentation at Frieze Seoul:

“Among the solo presentations of 20th-century artists that make up the new Spotlight section is the Myanmar artist whose striking work expands the story of minimalism” – Vivienne Chow

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Born Hla Oo in 1957 in Pathein, a rice-trading and production hub in south-western Myanmar, Po Po began making art soon after he graduated from Pathein College (now Pathein University) with a degree in botany in 1979. Developing his practice and artistic language in isolation from a global discourse, Po Po became a pioneer unknowingly.

It wasn’t until 1987 that he held his first solo exhibition at the Myanmar Artistic Association Center in Yangon, at the time the country’s capital. There, he presented an extraordinary body of work – six sculptures and 31 abstract paintings – derived from his playful manipulation of semiotics drawn from Buddhist philosophy and a limited knowledge of Western mythology. The conceptual pieces earned him the label of the ‘bad boy’ of the local art scene as they demonstrated his desire to break away from state-favoured realism.

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