Zarina Hashmi

Zarina Hashmi was born in Aligharh, Uttar Pradesh, India. She lives and works in New York, USA. Between 1963 and 67 she studied printmaking with S. W. Hayter and Krishna Reddy at Atelier 17 in Paris, and in 1974 studied woodblock printing at Toshi Yoshido’s studio in Tokyo on a Japan Foundation Fellowship. Her works reflect on her cultural orientation and she has been categorized as a contemporary Islamic artist. Hashmi has remained honest to her work and passion throughout and has never bothered about creating works to suit market trends. Her “paper sculptures”, are truly unique. They are made with cast-paper and not papier-mâché, and are made single-handedly by her without the use of any adhesive. No one else in India has really used this technique as a medium for sculptures. Hashmi has been awarded residencies at Art-Omi in Omi and at the Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, both in New York. In 1985 and in 1990 Hashmi was awarded the New York Fine Art Fellowship in the printmaking category. In addition, Hashmi has taught at Bennington College, Cornell University and the University of California in Santa Cruz.