Arbi Samah

He graduated from the Dutch school for the Indonesians in Kajtanam. In 1948-1950 took part in the national liberation movement as part of the National Army of Indonesia against the Dutch aggressors. In 1950-1953 He worked as a religion teacher in Padangpanjang and Bukittinggi schools. In 1953 he entered the Academy of Painting of Indonesia in Yogyakarta , where he studied with the famous artist Hendra Gunawan ^[1] .

After graduating from the Academy, he was a street artist. In the 1960s worked at the Army Museum in Yogyakarta. In 1971-1989 headed the culture department of the province of Western Sumatra , in 1989-1993 he was the director of the art school in Padang ^[2] .

Arbi Samakh's paintings (mostly watercolors in the style of realism) were highly appreciated by Hendra Gunavan, Sudarso, Vadayat, Trubus. In the field of sculpture, he worked in the tradition of monumental figurative plastic. Since the sculptural works were abstract in nature, they both in the era of Sukarno and in the era of Suharto did not cause the approval of the authorities. For example, Sukarno, a well-known art lover, visiting the exhibition organized in 1957 in Bandung in connection with the Conference of Asia and Africa, bluntly stated that he was not enthusiastic about the abstract sculpture of Arbi Samakh presented at the exhibition ^[3] .

He has created more than 200 sculptural works, including “Moon and Earth”, “Mother and Child”, “Village Girl”, “City Girl”, “Couple in Love”, “Woman from Kupang”, “Girl on Karang Mountain”, “ Tears of Mother ”,“ Two Girls ”,“ Beginning of Being ” ^[4] . Among the paintings, the most famous is the painting “ Minangkabau ” (1959, oil), which is stored in the National Gallery of Indonesia ^[5] .

During his studies in Yogyakarta 40 years ago, Arbi Samah declared himself through his sculptural work as one of the founders of modern sculpture in Indonesia.

- Hardy ^[6]

• Murtin’s wife, five daughters (Aurora Murnayati, Anita Dikarina, Lenggo Geni, Nurkesuma, Adek Sukma Murti) and nine grandchildren.

• Personal exhibition in Balai Budaya (Jakarta, 1975)
• Indonesia Sculpture Exhibition at Balai Seni Rupa (Jakarta, 1981)
• Triennial in Ismail Marzuki Park (Jakarta, 1986)
• Exhibition at the Oets Fine Arts Gallery (1990)
• Exhibition at the Istiklal Festival (Jakarta, 1991)
• Exhibition of Islamic Art (Pekanbaru, 1994)
• Abstract Art Exhibition at the Duta Fine Arts Foundation (Jakarta, 1998)
• An exhibition of two generations in the culture park of Western Sumatra (Padang, 1999).
• Exhibition at the Galeri Lontar (Jakarta, 2001)
• Exhibition at the Duta Fine Arts Foundation (Jakarta, 2001)
• Exhibition at the National Gallery of Indonesia (Jakarta, 2001)
• Exhibition at the Duta Fine Arts Foundation (Jakarta, 2002)

• Tari rakyat daerah Minangkabau dan kaitannya dengan berbagai jenis kesenian tradisional lainnya di Sumatera Barat (Minangkabau folk dances and their connection with other types of traditional art of Western Sumatra). Disusun oleh Arby Samah. Proyek Pengembangan Kesenian Sumatera Barat, [1984], [vi], 267 p.

• Arby Samah, Maestro Patung Abstrak Indonesia dari Sumatera Barat