Seema Kohli

Seema Kohli
Born	1960 Delhi
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Miranda House, Delhi University South Delhi Polytechnic, Delhi University
Parents	Krishnan Dev Kohli [1] (father) Uma Kohli (mother)
Website	www.seemakohli.com

Seema Kohli is an Indian contemporary artist, sculptor and poet. ^{[2] [3]} She has worked across painting, sculpture, installation and performance. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

Her work has been shown at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Florence Biennale, Birth Rights Collective, Venice Biennale of Art, National Gallery of Modern Art, Arco, Art Basel, Jaipur Literature Festival, Jehangir Art Gallery, and India Art Fair, as well as the Habiart Foundation. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Spanning over five decades of experiments in form and language, Kohli’s works live in multiple museums and institutional collections all over the world, including the British Museum (UK), Museum of Art and Photography (India), Kiran Nadar Museum of Arts (India), Partition Museum (Delhi, India), Birth Rites Collection (UK), Rubin Museum (USA), Phoenix Museum of Art (Arizona, USA), Bihar Museum, Bharat Bhavan, Lalit Kala Akademie (India) to name a few. ^[10]

Early life and career

Seema Kohli was born in 1960 in Delhi, India. Kohli has completed her graduation from Miranda House, Delhi University. ^{[11] [12]}

At the Florence Biennale 2009 in Florence, Italy, Seema Kohli got a gold medal for her film "Swayamsiddha - Myth, Mind, and Movement". ^[13]

Seema Kohli's artist book, A Storm in My Teacup was shown at ART HERITAGE at IAF, is now in collection with Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. ^{[14] [15]}

Kohli produced a massive installation in 2016 using 1,000 coloured cutting chai glasses and 700 glass holders at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. ^[16]

In 2019, The Museum of Sacred Art (MOSA) hosted a six-month exhibition of Kohli's artworks at 'Radhadesh', Durbuy near Brussels, Belgium. ^{[12] [17]}

Seema Kohli's art "Cut From The Same Cloth" was showcased at Bikaner House, New Delhi in an art exhibition held from 28 July 2023 to 4 August 2023. The event was presented by Gallerie NVYA. ^{[18] [19]} The UK high commissioner Alexander Ellis earlier took a round at the art exhibition 'Cut from the Same Cloth' by Seema Kohli. ^[20]

Selected exhibitions

Kohli has had over 32 solo exhibitions. Several of her large format artworks are part of national heritage collections at important public spaces and establishments in India and around the world. ^{[11] [21]}

• 'Khula Aasman', a solo show at Partition Museum and Seema Kohli Studio, Delhi, 2025. ^[22]
• 'When the Moon is Nine Months Full', a solo show at Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2024. ^[23]
• 'Between Realms and Dreams- Along Reality's Edge', a solo how at Bihar Museum, Patna, Bihar, 2024 ^[24]
• 'I tell you: Suns Exist', Archer Art Gallery, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2023 ^[25]
• Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre, Hong Kong 2023 ^[26]
• "Cut From The Same Cloth", a solo show at Bikaner House, New Delhi 2023 ^[27]
• Jaipur Literature Festival 2023 ^[28]
• Tat Tvam Asi, a solo exhibition at Cromwell Place Galleries, London by SA Fine Art, 2022 ^[29]
• The Feminine in the Divine, a solo exhibition at South Asian Art Gallery, Boston, 2021 ^[30]
• Hiranyagarbha series shown in Yatra Nariyasathu, a group show at the NGMA, Delhi, curated by Uma Nair, 2021 ^[31]
• A Tapestry of Time, a group show at the Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2020 ^{[32] [33]}
• Come Play with Me shown in Matter in Matrix, a group printmaking show at Latitude 28, New Delhi, 2020 ^[34]
• Project Home, a solo exhibition at Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC), Kolkata, 2019 ^[35]
• What a Body Remembers, a solo exhibition at Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2018 ^[36]
• Kamadhenu sculptures shown in Forms of Devotion: The Spiritual in Indian Art, a group show at the Museum of Sacred Arts, Conde Duque, Madrid, 2016 ^[37]
• The Other Self, a solo exhibition at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2015 ^[38]
• Raks-e-shams, shown in collaboration with Veda Gallery in a collateral event during the 2nd Kochi-Muziris Biennale, 2014 ^[39]
• Haranyagarbha, part of Taste The Future: Personal Structures, Venice, 2014 ^[40]
• In a group show at Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong, 2014 ^{[41] [42]}
• One Way Ticket showed at ARCO, Madrid, 2009 ^[43]
• Swayamsiddha performed at Gabon Museum, Madrid, 2009 ^[44]
• Swayamsiddha, shown at Florence Biennale, Florence, Italy, 2009 ^[13]

Books and publications

• Restless Lines in the Art of Seema Kohli, 2024 ^{[45] [46]}
• Birthing the Goddess: The Feminine and the Idea of Birth, 2024 ^{[47] [48] [49]}
• World Within World: In the Art of Seema Kohli, 2023 ^[50]
• Mitr Pyare Nu, 2022 ^{[51] [52]}
• Celestial Revelations, 2019 ^{[53] [54] [55] [56]}
• "Experiencing the Goddesses on the Trail of Yoginis" contribution by Seema Kohli - 2019 ^{[57] [58]}
• A storm in my teacup, 2022 ^[29]

Performance

• In Silence the Secrets Speak, Performed at the Royal Opera House, Mumbai, 2018

Awards and recognition

• 2017 - B. C. Sanyal award ^[59]
• 2014 Female Empowerment, outstanding achievement award, by Molecule communication, Mumbai ^[60]
• 2007 Lalit Kala Akademi National Awards for Women ^[61]

References

1. "Seema Kohli's art performance based on her father's unpublished autobiography, Miter Pyaree Nu, combines inhabited land with the unified consciousness". Indulgexpress. 11 April 2019.
2. "Imagining the universe as a womb and bringing a starfish home: Artist Seema Kohli on creating happy memories". Moneycontrol. 19 March 2022.
3. "A tryst with the yoginis". The New Indian Express. 6 March 2021.
4. "This stirring exhibition is showcasing art with a potato-based twist". India Today. 16 February 2018.
5. "Seema Kohli | Department of Visual Arts". dova.uchicago.edu.
6. "Project Home". Asia Society. 10 June 2022.
7. "Home is where the heart is: Artist Seema Kohli shares her idea of home through art". The Indian Express. 2 July 2022.
8. "Reliving Van Gogh". habiartfoundation.org.
9. "A Café Exposition: Reliving Van Gogh | India International Centre". iicdelhi.in.
10. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_2023-3006-1?selectedImageId=1613979370
11. "Artist Seema Kohli on the India Art Fair 2022: 'Art is alive, physical and raw'". Firstpost. 2 May 2022.
12. "The philosopher in her studio in Delhi". The Indian Express. 22 June 2019.
13. "Swayam Siddha: The Self Realized". Take Art Magazine. 5 November 2019.
14. Nair, Uma. "Is this art? Seema Kohli Chai at Nehru Park, New Delhi". The Times of India.
15. Narayanan, Chitra (29 April 2022). "India Art Fair opens in the Capital with pandemic and sustainability themes dominating". Thehindubusinessline.
16. "Walk through a wonderland at Kala Ghoda". Hindustan Times. 1 February 2016.
17. "Spirituality transcends religion: Artist Seema Kohli". Hindustan Times. 14 July 2019.
18. "Visual artist Seema Kohli celebrates feminine form through embroidery". The Indian Express. 30 July 2023.
19. Nair, Uma. "Seema Kohli's contemplative residues in acrylics and embroidery". The Times of India.
20. "PM Rishi Sunak very much looking forward to G20 summit in September: UK envoy". The Economic Times. 29 July 2023.
21. "The Alchemy of Process | India International Centre". iicdelhi.in.
22. "Khula Aasman : Seema Kohli". India Art Fair. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
23. "When the Moon is Nine Months Full : Seema Kohli". India Art Fair. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
24. "Bihar Museum - Event detail". www.biharmuseum.org. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
25. "Ahmedabad News – Latest & Breaking Ahmedabad News". Ahmedabad Mirror.
26. Nair, Uma. "Seema Kohli's solo in Hong Kong". The Times of India.
27. "11 new art shows in India to add to your July 2023 calendar". Vogue India. 4 July 2023.
28. "Seema Kohli - Jaipur Literature Festival". Jaipurliteraturefestival.org. 17 September 2013.
29. "Home is where the heart is: Artist Seema Kohli shares her idea of home through art". The New Indian Express. 2 July 2022.
30. "The Feminine in the Divine | Seema Kohli". South Asian Art Gallery.
31. Nair, Uma. "Butterfly Rain: Seema Kohli". The Times of India.
32. Behrawala, Krutika (27 February 2020). "'Tao is our canvas'". The Hindu.
33. "Mumbai: Tao Art Gallery celebrates its 20th anniversary". Architectural Digest India. 28 February 2020.
34. "The Print: Matter in Matrix". Latitude 28.
35. "Kolkata Centre for Creativity presents 'SEEMA KOHLI Live'" (PDF). emamiart.com.
36. "Seema Kohli during the inauguration of her art show 'What A Body Remembers' at Tao Art Gallery in Mumbai on April 4, 2018 - Photogallery". Indiatimes.com.
37. "Conde Duque muestra el arte y la espiritualidad contemporánea en la India - Ayuntamiento de Madrid". www.madrid.es (in Spanish).
38. "The Other Self of Seema Kohli | Verve Magazine". Vervemagazine. 6 December 2015.
39. "India Art Fair" (PDF). Galleryveda.
40. Tripathi, Shailaja (16 August 2017). "Beyond the canvas". The Hindu.
41. "Upcoming Events | Transformation – Contemporary Indian Art Exhibition | Hong Kong Art Gallery Association | Official Website". hk-aga.org.
42. "Transformation, Karin Weber Gallery - artinasia.com". Artinasia.com.
43. Shekhar, Divya (14 August 2017). "Seema Kohli's inter-mingling art forms is manure for the soul". The Economic Times.
44. "Seema Kohli Paintings | Seema Kohli Artist, Painter | Gallery | Sanchit Art". Sanchitart.
45. Kumar, Rahul (18 May 2024). "'Restless Lines in the Art of Seema Kohli' book review: A potent overview loaded with nuances". The New Indian Express.
46. Restless Line in the Art of Seema Kohli. Seema Kohli. 2024. ISBN   978-81-956749-7-8.
47. "Birthing the Goddess: The Feminine and the Idea of Birth".
48. "Five Authors Unveil 'Birthing The Goddess: The Feminine And The Idea Of Birth' in New Delhi".
49. PRIYA, SAKSHI. "Rediscovering the Sacred Female Principle".
50. "Publication: WORLD WITHIN WORLD: IN THE ART OF SEEMA KOHLI". sanchitart.in.
51. "Seema Kohli's art performance based on her father's unpublished autobiography, Miter Pyaree Nu, combines inhabited land with the unified consciousness". 11 April 2019.
52. "Instagram".
53. Yadav, Medha Dutta (22 June 2019). "The philosopher in her studio in Delhi". The New Indian Express.
54. Patwardhan, Sonia (25 November 2019). "Interview with contemporary Indian artist Seema Kohli". Medium.
55. "Celestial Revelations".
56. "Seema Kohli's Celestial Revelations opens at Radhadesh".
57. "Experiencing the Goddess: On the Trail of the Yoginis – BOOK LAUNCH - Jaipur Literature Festival". Jaipurliteraturefestival.org. 17 September 2013.
58. Chawla, Janet; Kohli, Seema; Dupuis, Stella (1 January 2019). "Experiencing the Goddess On the Trail of the Yoginīs". Academia.
59. "Artists honoured with BC Sanyal Award". business-standard. 17 January 2017.
60. "Seema Kohli: From the canvas of her life and art". thedailyeye.info.
61. "Seema Kohli". South Asian Art Gallery.

External links

• Seema Kohli speaking at India Inclusion Summit
• Artist at work: Seema Kohli (BBC Hindi)