NILISHA PHAD

Nilisha Phad completed her Bachelors in Fine Art (B.F.A.) in 2018 and her Masters in Fine Art (M.F.A.) in 2020, specializing in Portraiture from Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai. Her academic training provided a strong foundation in representational drawing and painting, while also allowing space for conceptual inquiry. During these formative years, Nilisha began to question the idea of portraiture as a mere likeness and gradually shifted her focus toward capturing the inner lives of her subjects.

Nilisha’s work explores the human figure beyond anatomy, engaging deeply with lived experience and emotional presence. Rather than treating the body as a static form, her paintings emerge from conversations with her subjects, where fears, joys, vulnerabilities, and shifting social roles are revealed. Through this process, Nilisha allows personal narratives to shape each composition, translating psychological depth into layered visual stories that resonate with quiet intensity.

Through this approach, Nilisha engages with portraiture as a site of empathy and reflection. Her figures often appear contemplative, suspended between internal thought and external reality. At the core of Nilisha’s practice lies an interest in bridging the gap between mind and body, using self-awareness as a path toward harmony. For Nilisha, painting becomes both an act of observation and a meditative process, where emotional states are subtly embedded within posture, gesture, and gaze.

Nilisha has been recognized with numerous awards for her contribution to contemporary figurative art. She is a three-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (Canada) in 2021 and 2024, as well as the Prafulla Dahanukar Foundation Gold Award in 2022 and 2023. In addition to these honors, Nilisha received the Shrishti AIF Grant in 2020 and the Young Artist Scholarship from the CCRT, Ministry of Culture, in 2019. More recently, she was awarded the Art For Hope Hyundai Grant for the year 2026.

Beyond accolades, Nilisha continues to develop a practice rooted in introspection and human connection. Her paintings invite viewers to slow down and look beyond surface appearances, offering a space for quiet contemplation despite their representational nature. Today, Nilisha lives and works from her studio in Mumbai, where she continues to explore the evolving relationship between identity, emotion, and the human form. Through her evolving practice, Nilisha offers viewers a reflective space that encourages deeper engagement with both the self and others.