While his works are highly prized, many other pieces at New Treasure sell for just a few hundred dollars; Min Wae Aung says he runs the gallery because he wants to support emerging artists by providing them with a venue to hold exhibitions. A recent extension also houses works from Myanmar’s master realists; in the absence of a national gallery, Min Wae Aung believes that it is up to enthusiasts like himself to ensure they remain on display.

It was a similar motivation that led Nyein Chan Su to establish Studio Square with four other artists in 2006. The gallery is on the first floor of what was until recently an empty and forlorn condominium complex, the product of a short-lived building boom in the mid-1990s. However, a recent surge in demand for office and apartment space has slowly brought the development back to life, and prompted the owner to complete some half-finished buildings nearby.

I meet Nyein Chan Su, who signs his work NCS, in the middle of his most recent exhibition, “In Past Journeys: 1970s,” which features 12 large, black-and-white photographic prints on vinyl, with red text overlaid in acrylic ink. The photos are family shots, while the words are a mixture of English and Burmese, the former taken from old editions of the now-defunct Guardian newspaper, the latter from period movie posters.

“I chose vinyl because it looks like plastic, and people think plastic doesn’t have any value. But I can give it value,” he says mischie-vously, sitting beneath a print of his aunt and mother pouring water on a Buddha image. The accompanying text screams WINNER OF 6 ACADEMY AWARDS.

I’m surprised when he names U Lun Gywe, the doyen of the Yangon art community, as his greatest influence. “I learned impressionism and realism at the state school,” he says. “It’s very important to learn those first. They are the building blocks.”