"Living in India means living simultaneously in several cultures and times. The past exists as a living entity…traditional and modern, private and public, inside and outside continually telescope and reunite”

Gulam Mohammed Sheikh has been a significant artist in Indian modern art since the early 1960s, as an internationally acclaimed writer, critic, and artist known for his sumptuous, deeply narrative paintings. He is a self-taught writer and practicing artist. Ravishankar Raval encouraged him to join the Faculty of Fine Art to pursue Painting. There he studied painting under the tutelage of accomplished teachers like N.S. Bendre and K.G. Subramanyan. The atmosphere at the faculty and the teachers' assistance enabled him to develop his storytelling style in art, publish a number of works of poetry and prose, and establish himself as an artist in the eyes of the public.

He joined Group 1890 in 1963 with 11 other rising artists who were critical of the previous generation's stale and derivative art. He draws influence from Persian, Mughal, and Pahari miniatures, as well as Bhakti and Sufi poetry and magical realism, when it comes to his own country's cultural traditions. His paintings feature historical and mythological figures, narrative vignettes, and detailed maps of the cosmos, all of which serve to demonstrate his ideas. His early work can be seen as being concerned with the subliminal reaches of human existence. In 1962 he received the National Award from Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi. Kalidas Samman, Madhya Pradesh Government in 2002. He has been awarded with the Padma Shri in 1983, and Padmabhushan 2014.

The artist lives and works in Vadodara.