Nilisha Phad - An Ingenious Artist

About the Artist

Nilisha is an artist based in Mumbai. She has completed her Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) degree from Sir J.J School of Art, Mumbai in 2018. This year, she completed her post graduate Master of Fine Art (MFA) degree specializing in portraiture from the same institute.

About her Art Style

The body narrates experiences through its mere existence. The human form and personality fascinates me. I attempt to depict the unique and diverse impressions people leave on my mind from a woman’s point of view.

Born and brought up in Mumbai, I have spent most of my days travelling through the mosaic of mesmerizing chaos the city offers. The general hustle and bustle of the city and all humans I encounter, intrigue me. They become inadvertent muses channeling the concepts of my paintings.

In my recent body of works, I represent the sensitivity I mirror towards the realities faced by women in the society. I encounter women with diverse personalities. Their personal struggles such as objectification, body shaming, gender discrimination and inequality forms a common emotional thread that connects me to them empathetically.

I try to treat the human form as a ‘part’ of an entire situation that I depict. I like to experiment with atmosphere, light and its effect on the elements in the painting.

I am currently experimenting with different mediums, compositions and ways of execution. My recent works are a combination of the printmaking technique of Collography and Realism. This superimposition of both techniques supports my intention to reveal complex layers of the female psyche transparently.

My vision for future portraitures is to create an amalgamation of composition, concept and collography supported by skillful realistic rendering of the human form. I intend to explore the vast potential that the subject of portraiture offers other than mere representation.

Staying updated about current affairs, researching subaltern voices and representing my findings in an aesthetic way as well as responsibly flagging out the social issues of the times I live in are the main objectives of my journey in this field.

Achievements

2015 State Level Best Portrait Award, Vasai Vikasini College of Visual Art

2015 Artist Dattatray Kamble Award in Annual Exhibition, Sir J.J School Of Art 2016 Nasik Kalaniketan Portrait Competition Award for Portrait

2016 Shobha Nayar Scholarship Award, Annual Exhibition, Sir J.J School Of Art 2017 Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation (PDAF) Mumbai City Merit Certificate 2017 V.V Oak Lokamanya Tilak Award, 31st All India Exhibition

2017 Shri B.D Shirgaonkar Prize for Best Portrait, Annual Exhibition, Sir J.J School Of Art

2018 All India Camlin Art Foundation (CAF) Award for Best Painting

2018 Professor B.N Sukhadwala Prize for First Class first Distinction in the Mumbai University final year exam, Sir J.J School of Art

2018 The Michael J. Ryan Award for Portrait, Monsoon Show, Sir J.JSchool of Art 2018 The Bendre Foundation Award for Creative Painting, Monsoon Show, Sir J.J School of Art.

2019 Shantibai Firodia All India Portrait Competition 2nd Award, Ahmednagar

2019 The Art Society of India First Award for Best Representational Art 2019 Sir Jamsetjee Jeejibhoy Award, Annual Exhibition, Sir J.J School of Art 2019 2nd Prize in the competition of Drawings and Sketches at Artists Centre, Kalaghoda

2019 2nd Prize in the Social Awareness Campaign for Tobacco at the Government college of Dentistry 2019 National Award in Oil Medium in the Camlin Art Foundation International Contest.

Favourite Art Quote

“ Turn your pain into art. And if it heals one person, then you’ve saved two lives.”

- Suhaib Rumi

Favourite Artists

Jenny Saville, Edgar Degas, Egon Schiele, Francis Bacon and classical artists like John Singer Sargent and Rembrandt.

Mantra for Successful Art Career

According to me, quality over quantity is important when creating art. Every piece of art we create teaches us something. It is important to learn and carry forward those points of awareness and realization forward when doing the next work. In order to do this, one should be sensitively aware of ones strengths and weaknesses and try to convert the weaknesses into strengths. One sketch a day is not less if you come up with 2 improved sketches the next day.

To have a successful art career, it’s important to be in touch with the current art world and art history. Using the easy medium of internet for research, reading and watching the right kind of art related material is important. Physically visiting art galleries is also important.

Connect with her - Instagram

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