ROMULUS x THE ARMORY SHOW, SEPTEMBER 24–27, 2026ROMULUS x THE ARMORY SHOW, SEPTEMBER 24–27, 2026
Sign inSign up
ROMULUS x THE ARMORY SHOW, SEPTEMBER 24–27, 2026ROMULUS x THE ARMORY SHOW, SEPTEMBER 24–27, 2026
DiscoverGuidesWorkspace
Zarina, A Sigh

ZarinaA Sigh, 1968

Woodcut printed in black on BFK white paper

25 1/2 x 9 7/8 in

About the artist

The work of Zarina is defined by her adherence to the personal and the essential. An early interest in architecture and mathematics is reflected in her use of geometry and her emphasis on structural purity. While her work tends towards minimalism, its starkness is tempered by its texture and materiality. Her art poignantly chronicled her life and recurring themes include home, displacement, borders, journey and memory. Best known as a printmaker, Zarina preferred to carve instead of draw the line, to gouge the surface rather than build it up. She used various mediums of printmaking including intaglio, woodblocks, lithography, and silkscreen, and she frequently created series of several prints in order to reference a multiplicity of locales or concepts. Her seminal work Home is a Foreign Place for example, consists of 36 woodblock prints, each of which represents a particular memory of home. Each subject is inscribed in Urdu beneath the print to signify the vital role language played in her work, as well as to pay homage to a mother tongue in decline. Other works such as These Cities Blotted into the Wilderness (Adrienne Rich after Ghalib) , Countries , and Dividing Line explore geographical borders and contested terrains, particularly those areas which are scarred from political conflict. She had a deep interest in the material possibilities of paper and in addition to printing on it, she created works which entail puncturing, scratching, weaving and sewing on paper. Zarina also created sculpture using a variety of media such as bronze, aluminum, steel, wood, tin, and paper pulp.

You may also like

Loading related artworks
Zarina

You may also like

Zarina

Kiss, 1968

Relief print from collaged wood, printed in black and burnt umber on BFK white paper

30 x 20 3/8 in

My collectionSave

Zarina

Spool, 1975

Blind emboss, relief print in white and thread on BFK white paper

24 1/2 x 19 1/2 in

My collectionSave

Zarina

Corners, 1980

Cast paper

31 1/2 x 21 1/2 x 1 in

My collectionSave

Zarina

Marrakesh, 1988

Cast paper

22 x 19 1/2 x 1 in

My collectionSave

Zarina

I went on a Journey III, 1991

Bronze

10 1/2 x 5 x 5 in

My collectionSave

Zarina

Crawling House, 1994

Hand-cut and molded tin

5 x 2 1/2 x 2 in

My collectionSave

Zarina

Homes I Made / A Life in Nine Lines, 1997

Portfolio of 9 etchings and one cover plate printed in black on Arches Cover white paper, Chine Colle on handmade Nepalese paper

Image size: 14 x 13 in (35.56 x 33.02 cm) Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 19 in

My collectionSave

Zarina

Home is a Foreign Place, 1999

Portfolio of 36 woodcuts with Urdu text printed in black on Kozo paper, mounted on Somerset paper

Image size: 8 x 6 in (20.32 x 15.24 cm) Sheet size: 16 x 13 in

My collectionSave

Zarina

These Cities Blotted into the Wilderness (Adrienne Rich after Ghalib), 2003

Portfolio of nine woodcuts with Urdu text printed in black on Okawara paper and mounted on Somerset paper

Image size: variable Sheet size: 16 x 14 in

My collectionSave

Zarina

Letters from Home, 2004

Portfolio of eight woodblock and metalcut prints on handmade Kozo paper and mounted on Somerset paper

Image size: 12 x 9 in (30.5 x 22.9 cm) Sheet size: 22 1/4 x 15 in

My collectionSave