As one of the most highly regarded artists working in India, Nalini Malani is famous for both her paintings and her video and shadow installations that reveal a deep commitment to the subcontinent.

She was born in Karachi in 1946, before the partition of Pakistan from India, and was forced to flee her hometown, along with her family, as a refugee. After stops in Calcutta and Poona, Malani settled in Bombay (now Mumbai), where she has lived and worked since 1958.

She developed a new position for Indian artists that made her an icon for the country's younger generation.

Her provocative works have been shown extensively in solo exhibitions, including one at the New Museum in New York, and in group contexts such as the Tate Modern and the 2005 and 2007 Venice Biennales.