Zarina Hashmi, known simply as Zarina, was a prominent Indian-American artist and printmaker, widely recognized for her contributions to the Minimalist art movement. Born on July 16, 1937, in Aligarh, India, she lived through the tumultuous period of the Partition of India in 1947, which led her family to move to Karachi, Pakistan. These early experiences greatly influenced her work, with themes of home, displacement, borders, and memory prominently featuring in her art.
Zarina studied mathematics before becoming deeply involved in printmaking, both in India and later during her extensive travels. Her work is characterized by its minimalist aesthetic, employing simple, abstract, and geometric shapes. Her preferred mediums were paper and ink, often handcrafting her paper and incorporating Urdu script, her mother tongue, into her works.
After living in various places around the world, including Bangkok, Delhi, Paris, and Tokyo, Zarina eventually settled in New York, where she became a significant part of the city’s Minimalist movement. Her work is recognized internationally and has been exhibited in numerous prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.
Google’s celebration of Zarina’s 86th birthday with a special Doodle is a fitting tribute to an artist who used her work to transcend cultural and geographical boundaries. The Doodle, illustrated by New York-based artist Tara Anand, captures the essence of Zarina’s minimalist style and the themes that defined her art.
The life and career of Zarina Hashmi indeed spanned multiple continents and was deeply interwoven with her personal experiences of migration and cultural exchange. After marrying a diplomat at the age of 21, she began travelling the world, living in places like Bangkok, Paris, and Japan. These experiences shaped her artistic perspectives and led her to immerse herself in modernism and abstraction, contributing to her unique style of printmaking.
Zarina moved to New York City in 1977, where she became a powerful voice for women and artists of color. As a teacher at the New York Feminist Art Institute, she was instrumental in advocating for equal educational opportunities for female artists. This role in promoting diversity in the art world continued with her co-curation of the groundbreaking exhibition “Dialectics of Isolation: An Exhibition of Third World Women Artists of the United States” at A.I.R. Gallery in 1980.
As a key figure in the Minimalist Art movement, Zarina was celebrated for her distinctive woodcuts and intaglio prints. These works often featured semi-abstract depictions of houses and cities – references to her experiences of moving and living in different parts of the world. Today, her pieces are included in permanent collections of several globally renowned museums, such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Despite her passing on April 25, 2020, in London due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease, Zarina’s profound influence on the art world endures. Her legacy continues to inspire contemplation and discussions about themes of home, displacement, and memory, making her one of the most influential artists of her time. Google’s celebration of her 86th birthday with a dedicated Doodle is a testament to her lasting impact.
