Seema Kohli

Seema Kohli (b. 1960)

Seema Kohli is a multidisciplinary artist who explores myth and fantasy through an eco-feminist lens. Her work, spanning both visual and performative mediums, investigates themes of beauty and sensuality as they resonate within philosophical and spiritual traditions. Kohli celebrates the cosmic feminine and its intricate relationship to the forces of creation and destruction. She focuses on the concept of Hiranyagarbha, or the Golden Womb, to create new artistic identities by reimagining belonging. Through processes of decay, hybridization, and transformation, she bridges the past and present, inviting dialogue between them.

Over five decades of artistic practice, Kohli’s works have become part of numerous prestigious collections, including the British Museum (UK), Museum of Art and Photography (Bangalore, India), Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (India), Birth Rites Collection (UK), Rubin Museum (USA), Bihar Museum, Bharat Bhavan, and Lalit Kala Akademi (India), among others.

Kohli has also created large-scale public murals, acquired by the Supreme Court of India (New Delhi), Sardar Patel Bhawan (Patna, Bihar), Delhi and Mumbai International Airports, and institutions such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. Her works have been exhibited at events such as the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2016), Venice Biennale of Art/Architecture (2015, 2016), ARCO [Madrid] (2008), Art Basel, India Art Fair (2010–2024), and at Asia Society Hong Kong, among others.

Kohli has been an invited speaker at international forums including TEDx (2012), WIN Conference (2013–2015), National Gallery of Modern Art (Bangalore, 2010, 2014, 2016), Harvard University, University of California at Davis, University of Chicago, University of Connecticut, and University at Buffalo.