Amrus Natalsya and His Sculpted Paintings
Amrus Natalsya is one of the many great artists who studied at the Indonesian Arts Academy (ASRI) in Yogyakarta. His artwork, a sculpture titled "Blind and Forgotten," was displayed during the exhibition the school held in celebration of its fifth anniversary. He submitted it under the name of Amrus Sjah Alam. President Soekarno, Indonesia's first president, attended the event and saw Amrus' sculpture. He liked it so much that he decided to add it to his personal collection.
In 1961, Amrus Natalsya along with other ASRI students including Djoko Pekik and Misbach Tamrin created an art studio called "Sanggar Bumi Tarung" or SBT. The studio affiliated itself with the People's Cultural Institute (Lekra), which operated under the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Consequently, when the communist party met its downfall in 1965, Amrus Natalsya was arrested for his connection to them through SBT.
The North Sumatran man is most famously known for his sculpted paintings. The peculiar style combines the technique of sculpting with the method of painting on a rectangular piece of wood. If you're interested in attending one of his solo shows, then you might be disappointed to hear that he had officially said his last farewell through his June 2019 exhibit.
