Seema Kohli

Seema Kohli read philosophy at Miranda House, Delhi University, graduating in 1981, and took a diploma in applied arts at South Delhi Polytechnic in 1983. Her themes are mythology, spirituality, nature and the feminine, and her best-known image is the Tree of Life. The paintings are worked with 24-carat gold and silver leaf; she also makes sculpture, installations and performance. She has held over twenty solo shows in Venice, Brussels, New York, Dubai, Singapore, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, and has shown at the Venice, Shanghai and India biennales and at fairs in Hong Kong, Basel, Beijing and Madrid. Awards include first prize for video at the Florence Biennale 2009, the YFLO Women Achievers' Award and the Lalit Kala Akademi Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in 2008.