About me

Statement

For decades, I have been painting Botanical Art as my passion for art and its scientific aspects as well. Technical perfection and scientific accuracy is required in order to paint such artworks. Meeting new challenges in making live paintings, scientific illustrations from dead materials had always been a love for Art and Flora.

For ages, these abundant experiences in the beauty and truth of this natural world made me enlighten the inner state of mind more than what exactly flowers look like. The series on Petals, Placid nuances, Assimilation of Flora and other series of different forms of my recent artworks best describes the time, moment and space born from the organic world of the elements that cannot be seen visibly but felt, sensed. Absorption and assimilation of these elements are the living being’s truth phenomenon. Creating such pieces of work, my paintings come from my deep intuition, from the concepts and the experiences of and from the natural world around me.

Neera Joshi Pradhan
Artist/ Botanical Illustrator

Kathmandu (2007 - 2021),

Neera Joshi Biography

Born in a family of artists, Neera Joshi Pradhan (M.Sc. Botany) is a leading Artist and Botanical illustrator in Nepal. Her approach of combining art and science first began with “Flora from Kathmandu Valley” 1999, the first Botanical Art Exhibition in Nepal and still continues her passion for art and love for nature.

She was trained as a Botanical illustrator in Marie Selby Botanical Garden, FL USA 2002, and attended Botanical Art Classes, Royal Botanical Garden of Edinburgh, UK 2007. She has been exhibiting her art works in various parts of the globe, “International Juried Botanical Art Exhibition, 2004” USA, “BISCOT 2007” UK. She was invited as a only Nepalese Botanical artist- “Flora of Nepal” Exhibition a 200 – year connection -as a part of Nepal Britain celebration, 2016. Other international exhibition includes 19th International Botanical Congress, China 2017, Shanghai Art collection Museum, China 2019.Awarded at Global Artist Movement - Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Japan 2019. Wuhan International Botanical Art Online Exhibition, Wuhan China and “Florilegium: A Gathering of Flowers” RBGE, Edinburgh 2020. She is also invited as a participating Artist in forthcoming Florence Biennale, Italy 2021.

She has contributed to research and conservation of Nepalese flora including ”Flora of Nepal” Vol. III with several botanical line drawings for scientific articles. Contributing as a resource person and a facilitator in national and international Botanical Art /illustration workshops for Flora writers to different levels of students for the past many years. Neera has developed a basic course for advanced level of scientific drawings for taxonomists/students of Masters in Botany which is included in a book “Taxonomic tools for Flora writers” (Published by TU /Government of Nepal). It is taught as a curriculum reference for the first time in Nepal since 2015. Currently, she teaches courses on Botanical Art and illustration at different levels to aspiring budding artists and science students at her studio, the school of Botanical Art, Studio Petals in her home country Nepal.

Besides her expertise in academic Scientific Botanical Art, and beyond the subject matter , Neera unfolds the spiritual aspect of creativity that depicts the truthful essence of the organic world of the flora. Neera has also been sharing her experiences inspired from nature in a very unique form of contemporary art in Nepal. This new form is a personal style of abstraction and senses a better world to share and live in harmony. She uses watercolor and acrylic paints as her best medium. Recently she was invited to participate the XIII Florence Biennale 2021 and successfully attended the event in person. She also received a Special commendation President Prize for the collection presented at the Biennale.

Currently, She works and lives in Kathmandu.

Profile

Date of Birth: 1967, Daughter of Doyen of Nepali Art/Painter RN Joshi (1938-88).
Education: MSc. Botany, 1995, Tribhuwan University, Nepal.
Training on Botanical art/ illustration:
  • 2002 Marie Selby Botanical Garden, FL USA.
  • 2007 Botanical Art Classes, Royal Botanical Garden of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Awards

  • Magnus Laurentius Medices Medal
    • Special Commendations from the President, Contemporary Art and Design, XIII Florence Biennale 2021, Florence, Italy
  • Global Artist Movement City Council Chairperson’s Prize Award
    • Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Nagoya, Japan 2019
  • Bhadra Kumari Ghale Lalitkala Puraskar
    • Botanical Painting, Nepal, 2069 BS (2013 AD)
  • Kala Jaagaran Samman
    • Nepal Academy of Fine Arts, 2012.
  • Bronze Medal, Botanical Images Scotia
    • Gardening Scotland, UK 2007

Workshops /Participation

  • 2022
    Botanical Art & illustration Training workshop for Science students in Bagmati zone, Province 3
    organized by Women in Science Forum of Nepal, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology , Khumaltar, Lalitpur
  • 2019
    The four days from 11th March - 14th March, series of art workshops
    Coinciding with “Forests and Gardens of South India: The Cleghorn Collection of Botanical Drawings” A unique traveling exhibition of archival botanical prints from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh ,Heritage Telangana Hyderabad, India.
  • 2014/2017/2019
    Flora writing workshop for Flora of Nepal
    Organized by Dept of Plant resources, The Laboratory of National Herbarium Godavari at CDB TU.
  • 2013
    Botanical Illustration workshop for Flora Writers
    Dept of Medicinal Plants at The Laboratory of National Herbarium, Godavari
  • 2010
    Botanical Art and Illustrations: Visual Communication in the Service of Plant Science
    International Conference for Biodiversity, Livelihood and Climate Change in the Himalayas(ICBLCC) Central Dept.of Botany, TU Kathmandu Nepal.
  • 2008
    Introducing Application of Scientific BotanicalArt and Illustration in Sorbus L. (Rosaceae)
    4th National Conference of Science and Technology, RONAST Nepal
  • 2004
    Application of Botanical Illustration in conservation of Orchids Growing
    At Marie Selby Botanical Garden, FL . 4th International Conference of Orchids held at MSBG.
  • 2002
    Workshop “Botanical Illustration and Photography"
    Central Department of Botany, T U
  • 1997
    Desert Agrobiology Course
    Bengurion University, Israel