Paulus Supomo, or widely known as ‘Seni Kanji’, passed away on 25 July at 66. His son Yulius Iskandar mentioned diabetes as the great illustrator’s cause of death. Seni Kanji was born in 1955 and has become a full-time artist since 2019, right after he retired from his job as a factory worker. The self-taught artist dropped out of school when he was in middle school and decided to hone his art skills. 

The main characteristics of Seni Kanji’s artworks are Chinese characters hand-lettering, classic strokes on the illustration and modest and humorous quotes. During his career, Supomo held three exhibitions: a mini showcase at Kedai Guru to celebrate the 2020 Chinese New Year, a live painting and exhibition at Grammars to celebrate Valentine’s Day and in March 2021, he held his last exhibition and auction titled ‘Sekalipoen Radja Tetaplah Tamoe’.

His artworks are popular in the Indonesian art scene, especially on social media, as he mainly used Instagram for art commissioning and collaboration. He worked as an illustrator until his last breath, as seen on his Instagram account @senikanji, where the illustrator showcases and sells his artworks and merchandise.