Zarina

Zarina was born and raised in the intellectual and cultural environment of Aligarh Muslim University, where her father was a professor of history and she herself earned a degree in mathematics (1958). The house from her youth, including the garden kept by her mother, was an enduring inspiration for Zarina, especially after her experience of being a refugee during the IndiaPakistan Partition and her subsequent history of migration following her husband’s posts in the foreign service. Zarina’s practice of printmaking developed between the many cities she lived between the 1950s and mid-1970s: Shilpa Korn University in Bangkok, Thailand (1958-61); the burgeoning art scene of New Delhi, India (1961-63); the Atelier 17 print workshop run by Stanley William Hayter and Krishna Reddy in Paris, France (1963-67); and Father Gaston Petit and Toshi Yoshida’s studios in Tokyo, Japan (1974). Zarina relocated to the U.S. in 1975, finding a studio, home, and community of women artists in New York City, which became her primary place of residence. Her minimalist works, including sculptures that incorporate metal, wood, and paper pulp, feature recurring themes of home, displacement, and geographical borders.

Authored by Anna Lee, curatorial assistant for Asian American art, 2025.