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{{Short description|Indian artist (born 1945)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Nilima Sheikh
| image = Nilima Sheikh.png
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age text|18 November 1945}}
| birth_place = [[Delhi]], [[British India]]
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Delhi University]]|[[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]]}}
| known_for = Painting
| spouse = [[Gulam Mohammed Sheikh]]
}}

'''Nilima Sheikh''' (born 18 November 1945) is a visual artist based in [[Vadodara|Baroda]], India.

Since the mid-1980s, Sheikh has done extensive research about traditional art forms in India, advocated for the sustainability of the practice of traditional painters, and used a wide range of visual and literary sources in her work.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aaa.org.hk/en/programmes/programmes/exhibition-nilima-sheikh/period/current-upcoming|title=Exhibition {{!}} Nilima Sheikh|last=Archive|first=Asia Art|website=aaa.org.hk|language=en|access-date=2018-03-31|archive-date=31 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331173318/https://aaa.org.hk/en/programmes/programmes/exhibition-nilima-sheikh/period/current-upcoming|url-status=dead}}</ref> Her work focuses on displacement, longing, historical lineage, tradition, [[communal violence]], and the ideas of [[femininity]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://khojworkshop.org/participant/nilima-sheikh/|title=Nilima Sheikh|website=Khoj|access-date=16 September 2017|archive-date=19 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919100749/http://khojworkshop.org/participant/nilima-sheikh/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="theartstrust-1">{{cite web|url=http://www.theartstrust.com/Magazine_article.aspx?articleid=363|title=Capturing the nuances of artist Nilima Sheikh's practice|website=The Arts Trust|access-date=27 April 2017|archive-date=8 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808171513/http://www.theartstrust.com/Magazine_article.aspx?articleid=363|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.flashartonline.com/2017/12/nilima-sheikh-chemould-prescott-road/|title=Nilima Sheikh Chemould Prescott Road / Mumbai|date=2017-12-15|work=Flash Art|access-date=2018-03-31|language=en-US}}</ref> She started exhibiting her work in 1969 and has participated in numerous group exhibitions, most recently [[documenta 14]], Athens and Kassel in 2017. Her first museum exhibition was organized by [[Art Institute of Chicago|The Art Institute of Chicago]] in 2014.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.apollo-magazine.com/trouble-paradise-tribute-kashmir-art-institute-chicago/|title=Trouble in Paradise: A Tribute to Kashmir in Chicago {{!}} Apollo Magazine|date=2014-03-20|work=Apollo Magazine|access-date=2018-03-31|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Nilima was born on 18 November 1945 in [[New Delhi]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000097953|title=Sheikh, Nilima {{!}} Grove Art|year=2005|language=en|doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T097953|access-date=2018-08-08|last1=Nagy|first1=Peter A.}}</ref> studied history at the [[Delhi University]] between 1962 and 1965, and received her Master of Fine Arts from the Faculty of Fine Arts, [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]] in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nilima Sheikh|url=https://www.saffronart.com/artists/nilima-sheikh|website=SaffronArt}}</ref> She was influenced by artists such as Kanwal Krishna, [[Devyani Krishna]], and [[K. G. Subramanyan]], and attributes the older [[Santiniketan]] experiment, Baroda's weightage to art history, and her earlier education in history as major influences.<ref name="idiva-interview">{{cite web|title=Artist Nilima Sheikh Recounts Her Art Journey|url=https://www.idiva.com/news-work-life/artist-nilima-sheikh-shares-her-journey-in-art/16042733|website=idiva}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A Conversation Between Vishakha N. Desai And Nilima Sheikh And Shahzia Sikander To Mark The Exhibition, Conversations With Traditions At Asia Society, New York, 17 November 2001|url=http://www.criticalcollective.in/ArtistConversationInner3.aspx?Aid=40|website=Critical Collective|access-date=16 September 2017|archive-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026151619/https://criticalcollective.in/ArtistConversationInner3.aspx?Aid=40|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Sheikh who originally trained in Western-style oil painting and later transitioned to a self-taught miniature painter due to her interests in historical traditions of painting in Asia.<ref name="idiva-interview" /> She has also stated to be influenced by pre-modern Rajput and Mughal court paintings, especially traditional tempera paintings like [[Pichhwai]] and [[thangka |Thangka paintings]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Conversations with Traditions: Nilima Sheikh and Shahzia Sikander|url=http://asiasociety.org/conversations-traditions-nilima-sheikh-and-shahzia-sikander|website=Asia Society}}</ref>

== Career ==
From 1987-89, Nilima organised and participated in the exhibition titled 'Through The Looking Glass' with her contemporaries, the women artists [[Nalini Malani]], [[Madhvi Parekh]], and [[Arpita Singh]]. The exhibition, featuring works by all four artists, travelled to five non-commercial venues across India. Inspired by a meeting in 1979 with [[Nancy Spero]], [[May Stevens]] and [[Ana Mendieta]] at the [[A.I.R. Gallery|AIR Gallery]] in New York (the first all-female artists’ cooperative gallery in the US), Nalini Malani had planned to organise an exhibition entirely of works by women artists, which failed to materialise due to a lack of interest and support.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rix |first=Juliet |title=Nalini Malani – interview: 'The future is female. There is no other way' |url=https://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/nalini-malani-interview-the-future-is-female-there-is-no-other-way-fundacio-joan-miro-national-gallery-london |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=www.studiointernational.com}}</ref>

== Exhibitions ==
Solo exhibitions include ''Terrain: Carrying Across, Leaving Behind'', Gallery Chemould, Mumbai (2017); "Each night put Kashmir in your dreams," Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai (2010),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gallerychemould.com/exhibitions/nilima-exhibition-2010/|title=Each Night Put Kashmir in Your Dreams|website=Gallery Chemould|access-date=16 September 2017|archive-date=31 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331104714/http://gallerychemould.com/exhibitions/nilima-exhibition-2010/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saffronart.com/sitepages/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleId=1048|title=Each Night Put Kashmir in Your Dreams|website=Saffronart|access-date=16 September 2017|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162520/https://www.saffronart.com/sitepages/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleId=1048|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi (2010), and The Art Institute of Chicago (2014); ''Drawing Trails'', Gallery Espace, Delhi, India (2009).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aaa.org.hk/en/collection/search/library/nilima-sheikh-drawing-trails|title=Nilima Sheikh: Drawing Trails|website=Asia Art Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saffronart.com/sitepages/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleId=940|title='Drawing Trails' by Nilima Sheikh|website=Saffronart|access-date=16 September 2017|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162418/https://www.saffronart.com/sitepages/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleId=940|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Group exhibitions include documenta 14, Athens and Kassel (2017); Revisiting Beauty, Gallery Threshold, New Delhi<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vervemagazine.in/arts-and-culture/revisiting-beauty-threshold-art-gallery-new-delhi|title='Revisiting Beauty' with contemporary artists|website=Verve}}</ref> (2016); 48th Annual Exhibition 2015, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Calcutta<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birlaart.com/48th-annual-exhibition-2015|title=48th Annual Exhibition 2015|website=Birla Academy of Art & Culture|access-date=16 September 2017|archive-date=15 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415104716/http://birlaart.com/48th-annual-exhibition-2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> (2015); Aesthetic Bind | Floating World, Chemould Prescott Rd, Colaba<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallerychemould.com/exhibitions/aesthetic-bind-cabinet-closet-wunderkammer/|title=Floating World|website=Gallery Chemould|access-date=16 September 2017|archive-date=18 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918024810/http://www.gallerychemould.com/exhibitions/aesthetic-bind-cabinet-closet-wunderkammer/|url-status=dead}}</ref> (2014); ''Touched by Bhupen'', Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Colaba<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.galeriems.com/exhibition-details.php?id=64|title=Let me count the ways|website=Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke|access-date=16 September 2017|archive-date=5 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805203906/http://www.galeriems.com/exhibition-details.php?id=64|url-status=dead}}</ref> (2013); and Tracing Time - Works On Paper, Bodhi Art, Mumbai<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.artslant.com/ew/events/show/53180-tracing-time---works-on-paper|title=Tracing Time - Works on Paper|website=ArtSlant}}</ref> (2009).

In 2018, [[Asia Art Archive]] from Hong Kong organized an exhibition called ''[https://aaa.org.hk/en/programmes/programmes/lines-of-flight-nilima-sheikh-archive/search/keywords:lines-of-flight-nilima-sheikh-archive-513269/period/past Lines of Flight: Nilima Sheikh Archive drawing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207130818/https://aaa.org.hk/en/programmes/programmes/lines-of-flight-nilima-sheikh-archive/search/keywords:lines-of-flight-nilima-sheikh-archive-513269/period/past |date=7 February 2024 }}'' from their collection of Nilima Sheikh. The exhibition presents travelling as a research method and artistic techniques for her to reinterpret material cultures and histories across national borders.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Archive |first=Asia Art |title=Lines of Flight: Nilima Sheikh Archive |url=https://aaa.org.hk/en/programmes/programmes/lines-of-flight-nilima-sheikh-archive |access-date=2019-02-13 |website=aaa.org.hk |language=en}}</ref>

In 2017, Sheikh's work was exhibited in [https://www.documenta14.de/en/artists/13561/nilima-sheikh documenta 14] in Athens, Greece, and in Kassel, Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.documenta14.de/en/artists/13561/nilima-sheikh|title=Nilima Sheikh|website=www.documenta14.de|language=en|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref>

For the 2020 Dhaka Art Summit, Sheikh created one of her largest murals titled, 'Beyond Loss'.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-02-11|title=Seismic Movements.dhaka Art Summit 2020|url=https://artishockrevista.com/2020/02/11/seismic-movements-dhaka-art-summit-2020/|access-date=2021-03-30|website=Artishock Revista|language=es}}</ref>

== Art forms ==
Nilima creates artwork in a diverse range of forms. Those include stencils, drawing, painting, installation, large scrolls, theatre set designs and children books illustration. The books that she has been involved in production are: Do Mutthi Chawal (1986), Moon in the Pot (2008), Blue and Other Stories (2012) and Saare Mausam Achchhe (2016).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archive |first=Asia Art |title=Nilima Sheikh Archive.Children's Book Illustrations |url=https://aaa.org.hk/en/collections/search/archive/nilima-sheikh-archive-childrens-book-illustrations |access-date=2022-03-28 |website=aaa.org.hk |language=en |archive-date=28 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328121021/https://aaa.org.hk/en/collections/search/archive/nilima-sheikh-archive-childrens-book-illustrations |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Research ==
Nilima finds inspirations from various cultures through travelling.

In the mid-1980s, she received a fellowship to document the traditional art forms, especially Picchwai paintings of [[Nathdwara]]. She made drawings of the motifs of these art forms, documented the tools and methods they use, and also corresponded with organizations related to cultural heritage to ask for support for the preservation of these art forms.<ref name=":0" />

In 1990, she was invited to visit Beijing, China by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to look at the reproductions of Dunhuang murals. She visited again, together with Gulam in 2011, for a site visit at the caves in Dunhuang.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archive |first=Asia Art |title=Accumulated Grace: Nilima Sheikh on the Dunhuang Caves |url=https://aaa.org.hk/en/ideas/ideas/accumulated-grace-nilima-sheikh-on-the-dunhuang-caves |access-date=2022-03-28 |website=aaa.org.hk |language=en}}</ref> Nilima believes the visual aesthetics of Dunhuang cave has influenced her own creative practice as she often infused shifting perspectives and scales into her own works.

== Further reading ==
* Sheikh, Nilima (2017).''Terrain: Carrying Across, Leaving Behind''. Chemould Prescott Road and Gallery Espace Art Pvt. {{ISBN|9788193023907}}
* Sangari, Kumkum (2013). ''Trace Retrace''. [[Tulika Books]]. {{ISBN|9789382381136}}
* Chadwick, Whitney (2012). ''Woman, Art and Society: Fifth Edition''. Thames & Hudson Inc. {{ISBN|9780500204054}}

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Biography}}
* {{Portal-inline|India}}
* {{Portal-inline|Art}}
* {{Portal-inline|Visual Arts}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Nilima Sheikh}}

* [https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/g11dxjwd2gj Profile on Google Arts & Culture]
* [https://aaa.org.hk/en/collections/search/archive/nilima-sheikh-archive Nilima Sheikh Archive on Asia Art Archive]
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheikh, Nilma}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Women artists from Delhi]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Painters from Delhi]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian painters]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian painters]]
[[Category:Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni]]
[[Category:Painters from Gujarat]]
[[Category:People from Vadodara]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women painters]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women painters]]

Nilima Sheikh - Revision history

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