Google recently paid tribute to Indian-American artist Zarina Hashmi on her 86th birth anniversary with a captivating Google Doodle. Zarina Hashmi is widely known as one of the most influential artists associated with the minimalist movement, and her artwork explored concepts of home, displacement, borders, and memory using abstract and geometric shapes.
The Google Doodle, illustrated by guest artist Tara Anand based in New York, beautifully captures Hashmi’s minimalist style. Born on this day in 1937 in Aligarh, India, Hashmi enjoyed an idyllic childhood until the partition of India in 1947. Forced to flee to Karachi in the newly formed Pakistan, Hashmi and her family experienced the effects of political upheaval firsthand.
In her early twenties, Hashmi married a young foreign service diplomat, which led her to travel the world. During her travels to places like Bangkok, Paris, and Japan, she immersed herself in printmaking and various art movements, including modernism and abstraction.
In 1977, Hashmi settled in New York City and became a vocal advocate for women and artists of color. She joined the Heresies Collective, a feminist publication that explored the intersection of art, politics, and social justice. Additionally, she taught at the New York Feminist Art Institute, which aimed to provide equal education opportunities for female artists. Her impact on the art world continued to grow, and in 1980, she co-curated an exhibition at AIR Gallery titled Dialectics of Isolation: An Exhibition of Third World Women Artists of the United States.
Hashmi’s art gained international recognition for its striking woodcuts and intaglio prints, featuring semi-abstract images of houses and cities where she had lived. Her work often incorporated inscriptions in her native Urdu and geometric elements inspired by Islamic art. Today, her art can be found in permanent collections at esteemed galleries such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
With her unique artistic vision and exploration of themes related to identity, belonging, and memory, Zarina Hashmi has left an indelible mark on the art world. Her minimalist style continues to inspire and engage viewers around the world, prompting contemplation and reflection on the human experience.
Google’s recognition of Zarina Hashmi through the Google Doodle pays homage to her immense contributions to art, as well as her unwavering advocacy for marginalized artists. The doodle serves as a reminder of the power of artistic expression and the lasting impact it can have on society. As we celebrate Zarina Hashmi’s 86th birth anniversary, let us appreciate the profound influence she has had on the art world and the way she brought attention to important social issues through her minimalist artwork.
