Zarina Hashmi was born in Aligarh, India, in 1937. She is an Indian artist who is known for her work in printing, drawing, and sculpture. After completing her mathematics education at Aligarh Muslim University, she started on her artistic path. She went to Bangkok to learn the intricate details of woodblock printing, and then she went to Atelier-17 in Paris to study intaglio under the direction of S.W. Hayter.
Deeply meaningful topics like home, displacement, borders, and memories dominated Hashmi’s artistic expression. Her mastery of printmaking distinguished her as a trailblazer, and her works were praised for their emotive impact, clarity, and grace.
Her work was featured in solo and group exhibitions all over the world, including prestigious venues like the Venice Biennale, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hashmi’s profound influence was recognized with numerous honors, including the Padma Shri, India’s prestigious fourth-highest civilian award, given to her in 2006.
Zarina Hashmi Illness and Health Before Death
People are curious about Zarina Hashmi’s sickness in detail. Zarina Hashmi passed away quietly on April 25, 2020, in London, where she lived with her niece and nephew, after a prolonged illness (Alzheimer’s disease). The demise of Zarina Hashmi occurred on April 25, 2020.
She developed a passion for painting at a young age, held onto it throughout her career, and eventually rose to become one of the most in-demand artists. The influences for Zarina’s art come from her identity as an Indian lady who was born a Muslim, her family history, and a life spent traveling from place to place.
She and her family lived in several cities, including Bangkok, Delhi, Bonn, Los Angeles, Tokyo, New York, and eventually London. She then noticed several of these locations that provided the inspiration for a set of woodcuts after saying, “I don’t feel at home anywhere, but the idea of home follows me wherever I go.”
Zarina Rashid’s Career
Sheikh Abdur Rashid, a professor at Aligarh Muslim University, and Fahmida Begum, a housewife, welcomed Zarina Rashid into the world on July 16, 1937, in Aligarh, British India. 1958 Aligarh Muslim University awarded Zarina a BS in mathematics as her degree.
Later, she studied other printmaking methods in Thailand, Paris’ Atelier 17 workshop, where she worked as Stanley William Hayter‘s apprentice, and Tokyo, Japan, where she collaborated with the artist Tshi Yoshida.
She was a team member and a resident of New York. In the 1980s, Zarina co-chaired the board of the New York Feminist Art Institute while instructing papermaking classes at the Connected Women’s Center for Learning.
She served on the editorial board of the feminist art magazine Heresies and contributed to the “Third World Women” issue. Zarina passed away in London on April 25, 2020, as a result of complications from her Alzheimer’s condition. On July 16, 2023, a Google Doodle celebrating Zarina’s 86th birthday went live.
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Personal Life
Zarina wed diplomat Saad Hashmi in 1958, and the two of them had two kids. The family resided abroad throughout Saad’s diplomatic career, including Bangkok, Paris, Bonn, and Delhi. These various cultural encounters and moves surely shaped Zarina’s artistic viewpoints and encouraged her research of subjects like “home,” “displacement,” “borders,” and “memory.”