Zarina

Paper Like Skin

September 29, 2012 - December 30, 2012

: Zarina Dividing Line 2001 Woodcut printed in black on handmade Nepalese paper. Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Purchased with funds from the Friends of the Graphic Arts.; Zarina Shadow House I 2006 Cut Nepalese paper. 69 x 39 in. (175.3 x 99.1 cm). Collections UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Purchase with funds provided by the Helga K. and Walter Oppenheimer Acquisition Fund; Zarina Blinding Light 2010 Okawara paper gilded with 22-carat gold leaf. 72 1/2 x 36 1/2 in. (184.2 x 92.7 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York. Photograph: Robert Wedemeyer.; Zarina Door 1969 Relief print from collaged wood, printed in burnt umber on Indian handmade paper. Edition 5/10. 29 1/4 x 21 7/8 in. (74.3 x 55.6 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York. Photograph: Robert Wedemeyer.; Zarina Kiss 1968 Relief print from collaged wood, printed in black and burnt umber on BFK white paper. Edition 3/10. 30 x 20 3/8 in. (76.2 x 51.8 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York. Photograph: Robert Wedemeyer.; Zarina Pool I 1980 Cast paper with terra-rosa pigment. Edition 2/3. 21 1/4 x 21 1/4 x 2 3/4 in. (54 x 54 x 7 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York. Photograph: Robert Wedemeyer.; Zarina Untitled 1970 Relief print of collaged wood, printed in black on Indian handmade paper. Edition 6/10. 29 7/8 x 22 in. (75.9 x 55.9 cm). UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Purchased with funds provided by the Helga K. and Walter Oppenheimer Acquisition Fund. Photograph: Robert Wedemeyer.; Zarina Untitled 1970 Relief print from collaged wood, printed in burnt umber on Indian handmade paper. Edition 1/10. 30 x 22 in. (76.2 x 55.9 cm). UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Purchased with funds provided by the Helga K. and Walter Oppenheimer Acquisition Fund. Photograph: Robert Wedemeyer

Zarina: Paper Like Skin is the first retrospective of the Indian-born American artist Zarina, featuring approximately 60 works dating from 1961 to the present. Paper is central to Zarina’s practice, both as a surface to print on and as a material with its own properties and history. Works in the exhibition include woodcuts as well as three-dimensional casts in paper pulp. Zarina’s vocabulary is minimal yet rich in associations with her life and the themes of displacement and exile. The concept of home—whether personal, geographic, national, spiritual, or familial—resonates throughout her oeuvre. Organized by Allegra Pesenti, curator, Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts.

“Paper Like Skin reveals the breadth of Zarina’s vision and the versatility of her practice,” explains Hammer director Ann Philbin. “It joins a series of survey exhibitions organized by the Hammer that highlight important but under recognized female artists such as Lee Bontecou and most recently Alina Szapocznikow. The presentation of Zarina’s work also emphasizes the museum’s commitment to the study and collection of works on paper through its Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts.”

Zarina: Paper Like Skin is made possible by a major gift from Susan Steinhauser and Daniel Greenberg/The Greenberg Foundation.

Generous support was also provided by Susie Crippen, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the Audrey & Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation, and the LLWW Foundation. Additional support was provided by Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Agnes Gund, and Christie’s. Special thanks to Luhring Augustine, New York.