L. N. Tallur Koteshwara, Karnataka, India, b.1971
L. N. Tallur (b. 1971, Koteswara, Karnataka, India) received a BFA in Painting from Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (1996), an MFA in Museology from Maharaja Sayyajirao University (1998), and an MA in Contemporary Fine Art Practice from Leeds Metropolitan University (2002). Working across sculpture, wall-based works, interactive projects, and site-specific installations, Tallur exposes the absurdities of everyday life and the anxieties that characterize contemporary society. His practice fuses handmade craftsmanship, found objects, and organic and industrial materials, often drawing on symbols of a transforming India to create resonances between traditional and contemporary systems of belief. The New York Times described his work as “like a miniature curiosity cabinet, hand-assembled down to the smallest detail and packed with charmed and puzzling surprises.”
Tallur’s work has been exhibited internationally, including solo exhibitions in Germany, South Korea, India, China, and the United States. Major institutional projects include Interference Fringe, curated by Gary Garrido Schneider at Grounds for Sculpture, New Jersey (2019–2020); Chirag-e-AI, Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru (2022); and permanent installations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai (2024), Linden Museum, Stuttgart (2023), and Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (2023). Other solo shows include SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah (2013), and Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai (2011).
Nature Morte has presented multiple solo exhibitions of Tallur’s including Neti-Neti; Glitch in the Code (2024), UKAI (Cormorant Fish Hunting) (2014), Pass word (2012), Chromatophobia: The Fear of Money (2011), and a solo show at Nature Morte, Berlin (2012).
Tallur currently lives and works between Kundapur, Karnataka, and Daegu, South Korea.
Selected Artworks
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2024
'Neti-Neti;Glitch in the code', Nature Morte, New Delhi
'Data Mining' Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai. Permanent Exhibit.
2023
'Vidi Vini Vici' Linden Museum, Stuttgart, Germany. Permanent Exhibit.
'V+Mana' Permanent Public Sculpture at Kempegowda International Airport, Terminal- 2.
2022
Chirag-e-AI, Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, India.
2019–2020
Interference Fringe, Curated by Gary Garrido Schneider, Grounds for Sculpture (GFS), Hamilton, USA
2018
Coinage (Permanent Public Sculpture), UPM Circle, Manipal, India
2017
Smoke Out, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, India
2015
The Threshold, Arario Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
2014
UKAI (Cormorant Fish Hunting), Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2013
Balancing Act, SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, USA
New Yorked, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, USA
2012
Pass word, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
Montessori: Lessons in Economics, Nature Morte, Berlin, Germany
2011
Chromatophobia: The Fear of Money, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
Quintessential, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, Mumbai, India
2010–11
Chromatophobia: The Fear of Money (Travelling Exhibition),
Arario Gallery, Beijing, China
Arario Gallery, South Korea
2009
Placebo, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, India
2008
Antimatter, Arario Gallery, New York, USA
2007
Bon Appetite, Arario Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1999–2000
Past Modern Interactive Art Objects (Travelling Exhibition),
Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, India
Bose Pacia Modern, New York, USA
Group Exhibitions
2025
'Sculpting with Light & Darkness', curated by Ina Puri, Kalakriti Gallery, Hyderabad, India
2024
'Move Sound Image' -Ground Seoul, South Korea.
MONEY TALKS -Art,Society &Power- Ashmolean Museum,Oxford, UK.
'My World'- Singer Laren Museum, Laren, Netherlands
2023
'find x', Frida Art House, Pune, Maharashtra.
'Things are Vanishing before us', Gallery Dotwalk, Bikaner House, Delhi
'Part 2 - Futuring | CheMoulding: Framing Future Archives', Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai.
'Multiple Realities - Voices in Contemporary Indian Ceramics', Clayarch Gimhae, Gimhae Cultural Foundation, South Korea
'A Demonstration of Ornamentation', Nature Morte Gallery, New Delhi.
'Pop South Asia' curated by lftikhar Dadi, John H. Burris and Roobina Karode, at KNMA Delhi.
2022
Kiaf Seoul, Arario Gallery, Seoul.
Frieze Seoul, Arario Gallery, Seoul and Nature Morte gallery, New Delhi.
Pop South Asia: Artisitc Explorations in the popular, Curated by Iftikhar Dadi and Roobina Karode, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah.
Earth Chronicles, 1X1 Art Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Modus Operandi III: Together Alone, Chemould Prescoatt Road, Mumbai.
Manicured Techniques, Nature Morte, New Delhi.
2021
Reimagining the object, In-Touch Edition VI. Chemold Prescott Road, Mumbai.
18 Dimensions, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India, Presented by Palette Art Gallery
On | Site, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India, Presented by Nature Morte
2020
The Idea of the Acrobat, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India, Presented by Nature Morte
Erasure, Curated by Gayatri Sinha, Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Kolkata, India
Game of Chance, Curated by Leandre D' Souza, Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, Goa, India
2018
The Sculpture Park, Curated by Peter Nagy, Madhavendra Palace, Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur, India
Modus Operandi, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, India
2017
Sub Plot: Language in the Vernacular, Curated by Meena Vari, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai, India, Presented by NGMA and Sakshi Gallery
The Sculpture Park, Curated by Peter Nagy, Madhavendra Palace, Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur, India
India and the World: History in Nine Stories (Travelling Exhibition), Curated by Naman P. Ahuja and J.D. Hill, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai, India
National Museum, New Delhi, India
10 contemporary art acquisitions, Curated by Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, Mumbai, India
Art in Counting House, 21C Museum Hotel, Durham, USA
Persevering Traditions (Travelling Exhibition), Curated by Veer Munshi, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India
Art District XIII, New Delhi, India
2016
L.N. Tallur & Ramakrishna Behera, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
The Dream Must Turn Speculative, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, India, Presented by Nature Morte
India Art Fair, New Delhi, India, Presented by Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum
2015
Constructs / Constructions, Curated by Roobina Karode, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, India
After Midnight: Indian Modernism To Contemporary India 1947/1997, Curated by Dr Arshiya Lokhandwala, Queens Museum, New York, USA
The Indian Contemporary | Vadfest 2015, MS University of Baroda, Vadodara, India
India Art Fair, New Delhi, India
Encounters, Curated by Alexie Glass-Kantor, Art Basel, Hong Kong
Daegu Contemporary Art Festival in Gangjeong, Curated by Okreal Kim, Daegu, South Korea
2014–15
Beyond the Classical: Imagining the Ideal Across Time, National Academy of Design, New York, USA
2014
Rewriting The Landscape: India And China, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), South Korea
Universal Studios Seoul, Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), Seoul, South Korea
The First International Biennale of Contemporary Art of Cartagena de Indias, Cartagena, Colombia
Mise En Scène, The School, Kinderhook, New York, USA
By Destiny, Arario Museum, Jeju, South Korea
The Armory Show, New York, USA, Presented by Jack Shainman Gallery
India Art Fair, New Delhi, India, Presented by Nature Morte
2013
Sea Art Festival 2013, Busan, South Korea
Phantomata, Curated by Geeta Kapur, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, India
Art Unlimited, Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Skoda Prize Show, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi, India
Body Being Here, Daegu Art Museum, Daegu, South Korea
2012
Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, India
The 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT 7), Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland Art Gallery (QAGOMA), Brisbane, Australia
Critical Mass: Contemporary Art from India, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
2011
Against All Odds: A Contemporary Response to the Historiography of Archiving Collecting, and Museums In India, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
Home Spun, Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi, India
Medi(t)ation, Asian Art Biennale, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, Taiwan
Collectors Stage, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
2010
The Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
La Route De la Soie (The Silk Road), Tri Postal, Lille, France, Presented by Saatchi Gallery
Now Through a Glass Darkly, Arario Gallery, New York, USA
Place. Time. Play: India-China Contemporary Art Exhibition, West Heavens, Shanghai, China
2009
The Armory Show, Arario Gallery, New York, USA
Failed Plot, Curated by Gayatri Sinha, KIAF, Seoul, South Korea
2008
The 3rd Nanjing Triennial: Reflective Asia, Curated by Huang du and Kang Jae Young, Nanjing, China
Pulse, Soho Studios, Miami, Florida
Passage To India: Initial Access, Frank Cohen Collection, Wolverhampton, UK
Mechanism Of Motions, Curated by Marta Jakimowicz, Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
2007
Unholy Truths, Initial Access, Wolverhampton, UK
ARCOmadrid, Madrid, Spain
Hungry God, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
The Armory Show, New York, USA, Presented by Arario Gallery
Subcontingent, The Indian Subcontinent in Contemporary Art, Curated by IIaria Bonacossa and Francesco Manacorda, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino, Italy
Hungry God: Indian Contemporary Art, Busan Museum of Modern Art, Busan, Korea
2004–07
Edge of the Desire: Recent Art in India (Travelling Exhibition), Curated by Chaitanya Sambrani,
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
Asia Society and Museum, New York, USA
Museum of Contemporary Art, Monterrey, Mexico
National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, India
National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India
Queens Museum of Art, New York, USA
Tamayo Museum, Mexico City, Mexico
Shanghai Biennale 2006: HyperDesign, Curated by Zhang Qing, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
9th Bienal de La Habana, Havana, Cuba
Hungry God: Indian Contemporary Art, Arario Gallery, Beijing, China
Beautiful Cynicism, Arario Gallery, Beijing, China
2005
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (MARCO), Monterrey, Mexico
Rites And Rewrites: Borders In Asia, World Social Forum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Iconography in Transient Time, Curated by Marta Jakimowicz, Gallery Sumukha, New Delhi, India
Crossovers & Rewrites: Borders over Asia, World Social Forum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto Alegre, Brazil
2004
Haste Modern, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
Busan Biennale, Curated by Tae-man Choi and Manu D Park, Busan, South Korea
Zoom! Art in Contemporary India, Curated by Nancy Adajania and Luis Serpa, Culturgest Museum, Lisbon, Portugal
2003
crossing generations: diVERGE, Curated by Geeta Kapur and Chaitanya Sambrani, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, India
Eclectic, Curated by Dilip Ranade, Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea, Organised by Yellow Sea International
2002
Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds, UK
2000
Millennium Logo, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai, India, Presented by NGMA and Art India Magazine
L'Art Dans Le Monde 2000 (Art In The World 2000), Paris Musées, Paris, France, Presented by Beaux Art Magazine and Paris Musées
1999
Asian Art Biennial, Dhaka, Bangladesh
1997
37th National Exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, India