Zarina Hashmi, the late Indian American artist, and printmaker, has been honored with Google Doodles in the US and various countries, solidifying her global recognition for her minimalist art.
Source: STIRworld
With her profound contributions, Zarina Hashmi emerged as a prominent figure within the minimalist movement, leaving an enduring impact on the art world that is widely acknowledged. In a beautiful collaboration with guest artist Tara Anand from New York, the Google Doodle artwork celebrating Zarina Hashmi skillfully depicts her artistic exploration of themes like home, displacement, borders, and memory using minimalist abstract and geometric shapes.
Who is Zarina Hashmi
Born on July 16, 1937, in Aligarh, India, Zarina Hashmi was a celebrated artist acclaimed for her influential role in the Minimalism Art movement. The trajectory of her life was profoundly altered during the partition of India in 1947, when her family experienced displacement and were compelled to resettle in Karachi, Pakistan.
Source: Christie’s
In her early twenties, Zarina Hashmi entered into marriage with a foreign service diplomat, setting off on a transformative journey that took her to diverse corners of the globe. Through her travels, she found herself in Bangkok, Paris, and Japan, delving into the art of printmaking and engaging with art movements like modernism and abstraction.
In 1977, Hashmi established her permanent residence in New York City, where she became a fervent champion for women and artists of color. She actively participated in the Heresies Collective, a feminist publication that delved into the intersection of art, politics, and social justice, further solidifying her commitment to advocating for underrepresented voices in the art world.
Hashmi made significant contributions to the New York Feminist Art Institute, where she served as a teacher and advocate for equal educational opportunities for female artists. Her impactful work extended to curating as well, as she co-curated the groundbreaking exhibition “Dialectics of Isolation: An Exhibition of Third World Women Artists of the United States” at A.I.R. Gallery in 1980.
Source: www.zarina.work
Zarina Hashmi’s artistic brilliance was evident in her remarkable woodcuts and intaglio prints, where she skillfully merged semi-abstract representations of the houses and cities, she had lived in. Her artworks were enriched by inscriptions in her native Urdu and drew inspiration from Islamic art, resulting in captivating pieces that showcased mesmerizing geometric elements.
Source: Kenan Malik
Even today, Zarina Hashmi’s art maintains its captivating allure, captivating audiences around the world and earning a place in the permanent collections of renowned galleries like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among many others. Her artistic legacy continues to serve as a profound source of contemplation and inspiration for individuals across the globe, leaving an indelible mark on the art world.
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