He pioneered the use of Arabic religious calligraphy and Acehnese ethnic ornaments in modern Indonesian art, and was particularly noted for the spiritual nature of his work.

Pirous' early life experience was during the late Dutch colonial period and the Japanese occupation of Indonesia.

[2] In 1964, he completed his education at the Department of Fine Arts, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), where he was a student of Ries Mulder, the influential Dutch painter and lecturer.

Erna studied at the ITB as well as in France, and she belongs to the second generation of Indonesian modern women artists.

[7] Pirous began to work as an artist when he was still in Medan, making cartoons, movie posters and portraits to help pay for his education.

[2] In Bandung, Pirous joined the artists' collective Sanggar Seniman, and had his first work exhibited with this group in 1960.

[2] Working with Ahmad Sadali and Umi Dachlan, Pirous emphasised a strong Indonesian and religious component in the Abstract Art that was taught at ITB.

This group was an extension of their first joint work from 1971, a folio of 18 screenprint from leading artists at the ITB published under the title Grup 18.

[14] Solo Exhibitions: Group Exhibitions: Pirous received numerous awards for his achievements as an artist and humanist:[18] ● Best Print at the Art Show Naples, New York, United States of America (1970) ● Best Painting at the Exhibition Biennale I Arts Council Jakarta (1974) ● Best Painting at the Exhibition Biennale II Arts Council Jakarta (1976) ● Bronze Medal of the Foreign Ministry, Republic Korea (1984) ● Art Award by the Minister of Education and Culture (1985) ● Satyalancana Medal for cultural achievements by the President of the Republic of Indonesia (2002)[19] ● Habibie Award for Cultural Studies (2015)[3] Pirous was appointed several times as head of the delegation, member of the jury, and curator of international art exhibitions, representing Indonesia.