For nearly half a century, Zarina has explored the notion of home, be it the space between four walls, the familiar script of a mother tongue, or the constancy of the horizon line. Her life and the places that define it are the subject of her art, and her particular story – that of an immigrant, a traveler, and a citizen of the world – is one that resonates widely.
Best known as a printmaker, Zarina also creates sculptural installations, collages, and other unique works on paper. Her compositions are precise and refined yet never austere by virtue of carefully chosen materials such as handmade paper, gold leaf, and sumi ink. Paper is fundamental to her practice and as evidenced by the impressive 50-part portfolio Folding House, it can be manipulated in countless ways. In each of these collages, fragments of paper from discarded projects are torn, cut, dyed, gilded, and burnt to represent home in all its strength and fragility. As a set, it also constitutes an index of Zarina’s previous meditations on the house and the title alludes to a kind of closure.
New York City, NY; NYC