Zarina was born in Aligarh, India in 1937, and she grew up surrounded by her father's large collects ion of books. Zarina says of her childhood, 'Even before I learned to read I loved to look at the printed words and images. This is what drew me to printmaking and the book.' ('A Conversation with Zarina in New York with Geeti Sen', Zarina: Paper Houses, Gallery Espace, New Delhi, 2007, p. 13)
Zarina's work is informed by this early fascination with books and words, and her primary material is paper and ink. As a master printmaker, medium and process are as foundational to Zarina as the theme and work itself. The construction of The Straight Path sets it apart from the rest of her oeuvre. Made of woven strips of paper, dyed with Sumi ink and collaged with gold, the viewer can indulge in the artist’s technique and extraordinary achievement of three-dimensional space. The thin, long strips weave together and form a fabric of paper while the gold pigment illuminates a pathway along the length of the work.
The Kufic script present at the beginning of the gold collage translates to "the straight path," understood in Islamic thought as the path that leads to God. By following this path, one walks in the direction of truth, faith and knowledge. The Straight Path represents this journey, illustrated in its most human form: a path slightly disjointed, sliding from right to left in an upward direction, as those on 'the straight path' are continuously moving forward and always in the gold light of the divine.
‘For me calligraphy is a higher form of expression than representation. Somet.mes s I put down my random thoughts or record t.mes of the day. The words are in my own language, recalling a t.mes , a sensibility of thought and feeling. For me, words form an indispensable part of my visual expression.’
Zarina depicts her message in calligraphy to signify a deeper meaning. In The Straight Path, this nuanced and complex message is distilled to a masterwork of threads, lines and letters. Zarina's astute use of minimalism imbues all of her work, including the current lot, and reflects the value of contemplation, that simplicity can communicate far more than excess.
One of the largest works to ever come to the market, the current lot is an exceptional example of Zarina’s careful and intellectual artistry. The Straight Path was part of a landmark retrospective in 2013, Zarina: Paper Like Skin, which was shown at the Art Institute of Chicago. Zarina has gained broad international recognition, and her work is also represented in major art institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Tate Gallery, London and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi.
