Untitled

Nasreen Mohamedi was one of the most important artists to emerge in post-Independence India whose practice was a vital site for the exploration of abstraction in non-Western modernism. This drawing, a combination of ink and graphite marks made with a ruler and other drawing aids, fully represents what would become the hallmarks and defining features of Mohamedi’s art. Its configuration of lines shows how she variously experimented with organic lines, delicate grids and hard-edged forms, demonstrating the formal rigor of her practice, while clearly announcing her commitment to a pared down aesthetic. Well-traveled, Mohamedi’s cosmopolitan outlook enabled her to be as equally drawn to Paul Klee, Rainer Maria Rilke, Mughal architecture and Indian classical music as she was to Agnes Martin, Louis Kahn, and Italian neorealist cinema.