Wrinkles of the Past

I met Zarina Hashmi when attending an art talk on Indian work in Chicago. The first thing you notice is how tall she is and how her face is beautifully wrinkled. As an artist that is 70+ years old, she has a lot to tell, just by looking at her face. Prior to this I was not aware of her work or who she was, but unlike other Indian artists, her work seemed different and unique, like no other. When I finally went to visit her exhibition in June of 2013 at the Chicago Institute of Art, I finally understood her past. You see, like several senior citizens in India, she lived through the partition, a part of India's past when it was ruled by the British. All of her work was inspired by what she lived through. I was certainly inspired as I saw the time difference between her work, showing that she has been doing this craft for somewhat of her whole life. Beauty certainly transpired through her paintings and I felt that.