SABRI IDRUS

Known as one of the most stimulating artists in Malaysia, Sabri Idrus creates work that lives at the meeting point of rugged beauty and sublime decay. In a country where figurative work largely dominates the contemporary art scene, he creates abstract visual experiences, exploring a range of methods to effectively deconstruct the institutions that define painting and art-making. He builds his paintings through a meticulous process of layering and spatial stacking, infusing materials and patterns to create sensual textures and juxtaposed forms.

An award winning visionary, Sabri is hailed for his ability to instigate intellectual dialogues reflecting upon temporal states and primal connections. Yona Arts founder Paula Tin Nyo writes, “As artist and laborer of Malaysia, Sabri Idrus has forged a physical, aesthetic and conceptual statement of a nation about to undergo massive change...each work behaves as a hammer pounding our feet to the ground, even as lofty plans would give us flight.”

Born in Kedah in 1971, Sabri Idrus studied his degree in Fine Arts at the Universiti Institut Teknologi Mara, following a diploma in graphic design awarded from the Mensa Design School in Malaysia. He has completed residencies in Poland, Indonesia, Malaysia, and most recently Berlin, Germany. His works are featured in the public collections of Central Bank of Malaysia, National Visual Arts Gallery, Khazanah Nasional, Ministry of Finance, Galeri Petronas, and The Westin Singapore.