Today, Google Doodle commemorates the 86th birthday of Zarina Hashmi, a Pakistani-American artist and print maker renowned for her contributions to the minimalist style.
Zarina, who is well-known for her sculptures, prints, and drawings, embraced abstract and geometric forms within the framework of the Minimalist movement, hoping to elicit a spiritual response from spectators.
Born in 1937 in the small Indian town of Aligarh, Zarina enjoyed a happy life with her four siblings until the partition when her family relocated to Karachi in the newly formed Pakistan.
She worked mostly in the US and made a mark as a minimalist artist. She had graduated in mathematics before studying art and this showed in her designs as well. She also used elements from Islamic religious decoration in her art.
At the age of 21, Zarina wed a young diplomat and set out on a tour around the world. She visited Bangkok, Paris, and Japan throughout her travels, where she came across printmaking as well as the modernist and abstract art movements.
Zarina moved to New York City in 1977 and quickly established herself as an outspoken supporter of women and female artists of colour. She became a member of the Heresies Collective, a feminist publication that examines the nexus between politics, art, and social justice.
Later, Zarina became a professor at the New York Feminist Art Institute, which provided equal educational opportunities for female artists.
In 1980, she co-curated an exhibition at A.I.R. Gallery titled “Dialectics of Isolation: An Exhibition of Third World Women Artists of the United States.”
In 2020, she passed away, leaving a significant legacy that continues to be appreciated and pondered by the world.
