Rusli, Born in Medan, North Sumatra (1912 – 2005). He studied at the Kala
Bhawana Santiniketan University of Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal, India
from 1932 to 1936. He spent 6 years in India studying pure painting art, fine
art of mural and relief, architecture, as well as eastern art philosophy of
Shantiniketan tradition and thought.
Going back home from India, he directly participated in Indonesian physical
revolution for independence fought against the colonialist. After the era of
revolutionary war, in 1951, Rusli was designated to become a lecturer in
Indonesian Fine Art Academy (ASRI) at Jogjakarta (of which now has
changed to Indonesian Art Institute or ISI).
Rusli’s painting is along the same line of Japanese and Chinese traditional
paintings through its use of lines of varying width which are sometimes
transparent, sometimes bright, while also leaving of lot of empty space.
Rusli, took on the role of the head of Seniman Indonesia Muda (Young
Indonesian Artists), at the Yogyakarta Branch between 1947-48, and the
deputy head of the International Association of Plastic Arts UNESCO in
1960, and as one of the first members of the Akademi Jakarta (Jakarta
Academy) in 1970. As an artist, he is known for being one of the pioneers of
abstract painting in Indonesia.