The exhibit spanned Masriadi's 10-year career and explored the evolution of his signature black-skinned figures, a motif now widely copied by other Indonesian painters.
Masriadi's works are marked by consistent high quality — thoughtful in the messages that transmit from scenes and figures in his pictorial world, and painstakingly detailed in execution and finish.
The sale of this work, a triptych conveying the resolve of the human spirit, marked a record for a contemporary Southeast Asian art piece at auction.
[6] At Christie's first auction in Shanghai, Masriadi's mixed-media piece Fatman, was sold for US$757,547, the highest price ever paid for a similar sized work of the artist.
Placed into the social and political context of Masriadi's home country of Indonesia, it however simultaneously conveys a deeper story as he captures both the spirit and psyche of today's society.
The emotions that are demonstrated by the football fans in the background–on the far right, anger; elsewhere, cheering supporters waving the national flag and banners carrying the words "Indonesia"–are indicative of Masriadi's cultural sensitivity and sharp humour.
Singapore Art Museum presented Masriadi: Black is My Last Weapon in collaboration with Gajah Gallery which featured over 30 works completed in the past decade.
Presented by curators Seng Yu Jin and Wang Zineng in four thematic sections, with each theme serving as a weapon, in the sense of an apparatus for engagement, to the interior world of the artist.
The set is a compilation of work by Ahmad Zakii Anwar, J. Ariadhitya Pramuhendra, Jumaldi Alfi, M. Irfan, Mangu Putra,[10] Nyoman Masriadi,[11] Teng Nee Cheong and Yunizar.