Seema Kohli


Seema Kohli is an Indian contemporary artist, sculptor and poet. She has worked across painting, sculpture, installation and performance.
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.
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, Museum of Art and Photography, Kiran Nadar Museum of Arts, Partition Museum, Birth Rites Collection, Rubin Museum, Phoenix Museum of Art, Bihar Museum, Bharat Bhavan, Lalit Kala Akademie to name a few.

Early life and career

Seema Kohli was born in 1960 in Delhi, India. Kohli has completed her graduation from Miranda House, Delhi University.
At the Florence Biennale 2009 in Florence, Italy, Seema Kohli got a gold medal for her film "Swayamsiddha - Myth, Mind, and Movement".
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.
Kohli produced a massive installation in 2016 using 1,000 coloured cutting chai glasses and 700 glass holders at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.
In 2019, The Museum of Sacred Art hosted a six-month exhibition of Kohli's artworks at 'Radhadesh', Durbuy near Brussels, Belgium.
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. The UK high commissioner Alexander Ellis earlier took a round at the art exhibition 'Cut from the Same Cloth' by Seema Kohli.

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

Books and publications

  • Restless Lines in the Art of Seema Kohli, 2024
  • Birthing the Goddess: The Feminine and the Idea of Birth, 2024
  • World Within World: In the Art of Seema Kohli, 2023
  • Mitr Pyare Nu, 2022
  • Celestial Revelations, 2019
  • "Experiencing the Goddesses on the Trail of Yoginis" contribution by Seema Kohli - 2019
  • A storm in my teacup, 2022

Performance

Awards and recognition