Seema Kohli

What links here Related changes Page information Get shortened URL
Created by DeangeloWaley
Last edited May 7, 2026


Seema Kohli
Born
Delhi, India
Alma materMiranda House, Delhi University South Delhi Polytechnic|South Delhi Polytechnic, Delhi University
Parents
  • Krishnan Dev Kohli[1] (father)
  • Uma Kohli (mother)
Websitewww.seemakohli.com

Seema Kohli is a multidisciplinary artist working through the imagination of mythical and fantastical worlds from an eco-feminist eye.[2][3] Engaging with visual and performative media, Kohli explores the themes of beauty and sensuality echoed in philosophy and spirituality studies across civilisation. Her work primarily celebrates the cosmic feminine and its relationship to forces of creation and destruction. There is a focused engagement with the concept of Hiranayagarbha or The Golden Womb; she attempts to create new artistic identities by reshaping belongings, bringing the past and the present into a dialogue through a process of decay, hybridisation and transformation.[4][5][6]

Early life and career[edit | edit source]

Seema Kohli was born in 1960 in Delhi, India. She graduated from Miranda House, University of Delhi.[7][8]

Kohli received a gold medal at the Florence Biennale in 2009 for her film Swayamsiddha – Myth, Mind, and Movement.[9]

In 2016, she created a large-scale installation at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival using 1,000 coloured cutting chai glasses and 700 glass holders.[10]

In 2019, the Museum of Sacred Art (MOSA) hosted a six-month exhibition of Kohli's works at Radhadesh in Durbuy, Belgium.[8][11]

Her exhibition Cut From The Same Cloth was showcased at Bikaner House, New Delhi, from 28 July to 4 August 2023.[12][13] The exhibition was presented by Gallerie NVYA.[14]

Selected exhibitions[edit | edit source]

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.[15][16][17][7][18]

  • "Samsara and Metamorphosis: The Mythical World of Seema Kohli", a solo show at the Pacific Art League, USA[19][20][21]
  • "Bodies of Sky, Bodies of Earth", a solo show at Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, 2026[22][23]
  • "With Her Hair Running Wild", a solo show at Gallerie Nvya at Triveni, Triveni Kala Sangam, 2026[24][25]
  • "Where Earth Writes Upon the Sky", a solo show at Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, 2025[26][27][28]
  • "Kaal Netra- Sacred Matrices: Seema Kohli's Living Mythic Matrices", a solo show at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru, 2025[29][30]
  • 'Khula Aasman', a solo show at Partition Museum and Seema Kohli Studio, Delhi, 2025.[31]
  • 'When the Moon is Nine Months Full', a solo show at Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2024.[32]
  • 'Between Realms and Dreams- Along Reality's Edge', a solo show at Bihar Museum, Patna, Bihar, 2024[33]
  • 'I tell you: Suns Exist', Archer Art Gallery, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2023[34]
  • "World Within World", Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre, Hong Kong 2023[35]
  • "Cut From The Same Cloth", a solo show at Bikaner House, New Delhi 2023[36]
  • Jaipur Literature Festival 2023[37]
  • Tat Tvam Asi, a solo exhibition at Cromwell Place Galleries, London by SA Fine Art, 2022[38]
  • The Feminine in the Divine, a solo exhibition at South Asian Art Gallery, Boston, 2021[39]
  • Hiranyagarbha series shown in Yatra Nariyasathu, a group show at the NGMA, Delhi, curated by Uma Nair, 2021[40]
  • A Tapestry of Time, a group show at the Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2020[41][42]

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

Kohli's artist book, A Storm in My Teacup, was shown at ART HERITAGE at IAF and is now in the collection of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.[43][44]

Awards and recognition[edit | edit source]

Year Award Ref.
2017 B. C. Sanyal Award [45]
2014 Female Empowerment Outstanding Achievement Award by Molecule Communication, Mumbai [46]
2007 Lalit Kala Akademi National Award for Women [47]

References[edit | edit source]

  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. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Artist Seema Kohli on the India Art Fair 2022: 'Art is alive, physical and raw'". Firstpost. 2 May 2022.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "The philosopher in her studio in Delhi". The New Indian Express. 22 June 2019.
  9. ↑ "Swayam Siddha: The Self Realized". Take Art Magazine. 5 November 2019.
  10. ↑ "Walk through a wonderland at Kala Ghoda". Hindustan Times. 1 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Spirituality transcends religion: Artist Seema Kohli". Hindustan Times. 14 July 2019.
  12. ↑ "Visual artist Seema Kohli celebrates feminine form through embroidery". The Indian Express. 30 July 2023.
  13. ↑ Nair, Uma. "Seema Kohli's contemplative residues in acrylics and embroidery". The Times of India.
  14. ↑ "PM Rishi Sunak very much looking forward to G20 summit in September: UK envoy". The Economic Times. 29 July 2023.
  15. ↑ "Home is where the heart is: Artist Seema Kohli shares her idea of home through art". The Indian Express. 2 July 2022.
  16. ↑ "Reliving Van Gogh". habiartfoundation.org.
  17. ↑ "A Café Exposition: Reliving Van Gogh | India International Centre". iicdelhi.in.
  18. ↑ "The Alchemy of Process | India International Centre". iicdelhi.in.
  19. ↑ "Seema Kohli's First Solo Exhibition in the United States: Samsara & Metamorphosis: The Mystical World of Seema Kohli". Pacific Art League. 27 February 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Seema Kohli Solo Exhibition in USA – Indian Art". Laasya Art. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  21. ↑ Zimmerman, Heather (20 February 2026). "Artist Seema Kohli's 'internal journey'". The Almanac. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Bodies of Sky, Bodies of Earth". India Art Fair. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "Two exhibitions in Delhi trace the artistic journey of Seema Kohli". The Indian Express. 20 January 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  24. ↑ "With her Hair Running Wild: Seema Kohli". India Art Fair. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  25. ↑ Dhingra, Deepali (8 March 2026). "Line of Fire and Freedom". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Where Earth Writes Upon the Sky: Seema Kohli". India Art Fair. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  27. ↑ "Seema Kohli returns to Chennai with a rewritten sky in her latest exhibition". The Times of India. 5 December 2025. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  28. ↑ Service, Express News (1 December 2025). "Earth, sky, and in-betweens". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  29. ↑ "Kaal Netra – Sacred Matrices: Seema Kohli". India Art Fair. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  30. ↑ Dhanaraj, Ruth (8 October 2025). "Kaal Netra by Seema Kohli pays homage to the feminine divine". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  31. ↑ "Khula Aasman : Seema Kohli". India Art Fair. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  32. ↑ "When the Moon is Nine Months Full : Seema Kohli". India Art Fair. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  33. ↑ "Bihar Museum - Event detail". www.biharmuseum.org. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  34. ↑ "Ahmedabad News – Latest & Breaking Ahmedabad News". Ahmedabad Mirror.
  35. ↑ Nair, Uma. "Seema Kohli's solo in Hong Kong". The Times of India.
  36. ↑ "11 new art shows in India to add to your July 2023 calendar". Vogue India. 4 July 2023.
  37. ↑ "Seema Kohli - Jaipur Literature Festival". Jaipurliteraturefestival.org. 17 September 2013.
  38. ↑ "Home is where the heart is: Artist Seema Kohli shares her idea of home through art". The New Indian Express. 2 July 2022.
  39. ↑ "The Feminine in the Divine | Seema Kohli". South Asian Art Gallery.
  40. ↑ Nair, Uma. "Butterfly Rain: Seema Kohli". The Times of India.
  41. ↑ Behrawala, Krutika (27 February 2020). "'Tao is our canvas'". The Hindu.
  42. ↑ "Mumbai: Tao Art Gallery celebrates its 20th anniversary". Architectural Digest India. 28 February 2020.
  43. ↑ Nair, Uma. "Is this art? Seema Kohli Chai at Nehru Park, New Delhi". The Times of India.
  44. ↑ Narayanan, Chitra (29 April 2022). "India Art Fair opens in the Capital with pandemic and sustainability themes dominating". Thehindubusinessline.
  45. ↑ "Artists honoured with BC Sanyal Award". Business Standard. 17 January 2017.
  46. ↑ "Seema Kohli: From the canvas of her life and art". The Daily Eye.
  47. ↑ "Seema Kohli". South Asian Art Gallery.

External links[edit | edit source]

Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Seema_Kohli&oldid=533902"
Discover more