Bio
Asma Kazi is a versatile Indian multidisciplinary artist, born in Kuwait and currently based in Pune, India. Kazi embarked on her artistic journey in 2012, and since then, has been commissioned for numerous fine art and commercial projects. Her artwork traverses continents, finding homes in collections worldwide, and has been featured in exhibitions both in India and the US. Noteworthy among her commercial art endeavors is her collaboration on artwork created for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hachette Books, Zee TV and Hoshruba Repertory. Alongside her visual artistry, Kazi explores the realms of magical realism and speculative fiction through her writing. Her story “Bahameen” was published as part of a 13-story anthology titled Magical Women, by Hachette Books India.
Prior to embracing artistry as her primary vocation, Kazi’s diverse resume encompassed disciplines such as Zoology, Business Strategy, Real Estate, and Analytics, culminating in a rich tapestry of experiences. She holds a BSc in Zoology, a diploma in software engineering, and an MBA in marketing. Her professional journey includes stints at the Analytics Centre Of Excellence with GE Card Services in Bangalore, and in Tenant Strategies & Solutions at Cushman & Wakefield in Bombay. The echoes of these eclectic paths resonate throughout her artwork, evident in her scientific journal-inspired biomorphic forms and recurring motifs of reading patterns & finding order amidst chaos.
Kazi’s mode of artistic expression in her constantly evolving work, spans surrealism, sculptural mixed media works, fantastical assemblages, and intricate illustrative patterns. Infused with whimsy and surrealism, her creations harmonize seemingly disparate elements into cohesive narratives. Drawing inspiration from a myriad of influences: her childhood memories from growing up in Pune & Kuwait, her many hours spent illustrating biology journals, studying the lay of the land during her travels, fantastical narratives from magical realism and science fiction, chaos theory, organic ecosystems, parallel universes, popular sugary rainbow hued foods culture and the curious enchantment of the natural world; Asma invites viewers into realms of exploration, adventure and infinite possibilities.
Kazi’s art is evocative and sometimes playful, celebrating the enchantment of everyday life alongside the allure of beautiful dilapidation. Her eclectic body of work is an invitation to the audiences to embark on a journey of discovery and imagination, a journey into the unknown.
Education
MBA Marketing, MIT School of Management, Pune, India
BSc Zoology, Pune University, India
Diploma in Software Engineering, Pune, India
Exhibitions
2025 Cartographies of Mischief, group show with Ether Project at Akar Prakar, New Delhi, India
2025 Everybody’s Elsewhere, group show with Ether Project at DAF, Indore, India
2025 Showcase of miniature works at Garrett Museum of Art, Indiana, United States
2024 Interwoven Dimensions, online group show with TAO Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
2024 The Center of the Universe Tastes like Raspberry Sour sticks and Popping Candy, exhibition of miniature art at AKG Micro Gallery, Chicago, United States
2024 I Interpret, group show at Nine Fish Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
2024 Kaleidoscope, group show at TAO Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
2023 Common Ground, group show at Vida Heydari Contemporary, Pune, India
2022 The Davos Tentacle, VR and in person show of digital art at OCAM, Davos, Switzerland
2021 I’m Speaking, online group show with PXP Contemporary, United States
2019 Ancient Tongues and Tales, group show of fantastical works at Fernie Brae, Portland, United States
2014 Prakriti, group show with Indian Art Consultants
Publications
2021 All She Makes Magazine – Summer Issue
2021 Beautiful Bizarre Magazine , Art Prize 2021 “Amazing Entries” feature
2021 Saatchi Art 90 must-see works handpicked by the Saatchi Art Chief Curator and VP, Art Advisory, Rebecca Wilson :: Week of 17-May-2021
2021 Saatchi Art 90 must-see works handpicked by the Saatchi Art Chief Curator and VP, Art Advisory, Rebecca Wilson :: Week of 10-May-2021
2021 Saatchi Art Earth Day Botanicals 2021 Collection
2020 Three Is A Chat – The Career Switcher’s Season :: Asma Kazi – Fine Artist and Illustrator
2019 Magical Women Cover Magic, Asma Kazi on How It Was Made | Purple Pencil Project
2019 Contributing author, for Anthology- Magical Women, Hachette India
2016 101 Women Artists From India Whose Work Will Leave You Speechless | Polkadot Cafe
2016 Big Bad List of Women Illustrators, Designers and Visual Artists From India | Cupick
2015 80 Leading Illustrators From India Tell Us About Their Favorite Work | Polkadot Cafe
2014 Reverberations, a series of five artworks published in the Spring 2014 issue of Folio – A Literary Journal at American University
2013 Zoology, Excel Sheets and Drawing Outside The Lines | DZine Trip
Artist Statement
In the vast expanse beyond the boundaries of our perception, there are worlds that operate on rules different from our own and realms where reality intertwines with the fantastical, a place where unseen forces shape worlds beyond comprehension. There are light waves that our eyes can’t perceive and sounds that our ears can’t hear and yet there they are, these other worlds operating alongside our own universe, ticking at their own pace and rhythm. My series Alien Landscapes seeks to capture the essence of these otherworldly realms, blending together biomorphic forms, organic botanical structures and geometrical patterns into lush metamorphic agglomerates.
Being a surrealist autodidact, my art is grounded in the unconventional and the whimsical, and draws inspiration from a myriad of influences: childhood memories from growing up in the contrasting yet echoing topographies of Pune and Kuwait, of chasing butterflies and following snail trails, the many hours spent illustrating biology journals, fantastical narratives from magical realism and science fiction, chaos theory, evolution, post apocalyptic mutating worlds, parallel universes and the curious enchantment of the natural world. The intersections of these varied influences allow for a lateral view and infinite possibilities through themes of exploration, new discoveries, & symbiotic associations.
Dimensionality is vital to my process. While my visual language is informed by contemporary natural ecosystems and fictitious worlds, which allow for a surrealistic converging of disparate elements—magical beanstalks twist and twine alongside candy trails, shimmering constellations, fungi forests, deep water reefs, butterflies and brooding mummyesque cocoons, all symbols ripe for interpretation; my art is an imagining of post human spaces where vibrant life flourishes in unexpected ways, emerging as mutated biodiverse ecosystems that feel dangerously Alien, yet of an inviting familiarity. This is an exploration of our age of mutating ecosystems, of the ever increasing pandemonium and the constant friction between rigid systems that fray at the edges, often making way for more vibrant, flexible, inclusive systems, that metamorphose and morph into lush bio diverse ecosystems of plankton, plastic, Pan’s labyrinth and jelly beans. Of micro plastics in our blood streams swimming alongside what may have been the last sigh of a stegosaurus as it watched fire fall from the sky, the thinning of the veil between the real & the surreal.
At its core my art is a celebration of resilience, and a representation of how life finds a way to bloom in even the harshest of terrains. Born from my own experiences of journeying through landscapes both stark and lush, each of my works embodies a sense of adventure and discovery, and sometimes feels very much like a treasure hunt or an instrument for divination. Through each line and brushstroke, I weave together fragments of my own personal mythology, connecting the dots between the past and the present, reality and the fantastical. It is a deeply personal journey, a call for adventure, and an invitation to journey into the unknown.