Important Notice

Nilima Sheikh's work retains a distinctively Indian flavour, shaped as it is by traditional miniature painting and oral traditions of storytelling and folk singing. Born in New Delhi in 1945, Nilima Sheikh has spent most of her educational and professional life in Baroda. Initially trained in Western-style oil painting, in the 1980s Sheikh received a number of government fellowships to study traditional Indian painting. Her practice was also... Nilima Sheikh's work retains a distinctively Indian flavour, shaped as it is by traditional miniature painting and oral traditions of storytelling and folk singing. Born in New Delhi in 1945, Nilima Sheikh has spent most of her educational and professional life in Baroda. Initially trained in Western-style oil painting, in the 1980s Sheikh received a number of government fellowships to study traditional Indian painting. Her practice was also greatly influenced by the unique modern art scene of 1960s Baroda and her mentor K G Subramanyan. Subramanyan was deeply interested in exploring Indian art and craft traditions, and in finding a way to blend these traditions with painting in oil. Sheikh has herself acknowledged the extent to which her mentor influenced her, and the impact of his beliefs about the plurality of art practice and the interdependence of art and craft can be seen in her work.

Sheikh creates work in a range of media, including small-scale works on handmade paper, paper scrolls, banners, folding screens, tents and even stage sets. Her paintings address issues of feminism, communal violence and suffering. The present lot, a monumental scroll painting, looks closely at the Partition of India. Executed in casein, Sheikh depicts a colourful landscape that both, connects and separates the two nations. In the artist's words, "This painting is about the journey along a mountain river, now visible, now around the bend, sometimes close enough to touch. It is about the transition from one time to another, one land to another."

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