L.N. Tallur


Laxmi Narayan Tallur, professionally known as L.N. Tallur, is an Indian conceptual artist best known for sculptural, site-specific art installations and interactive media. He is represented by Chemould Prescott Road in Mumbai, Nature Morte in New Delhi and Arario Gallery in Seoul.

Early life and education

Tallur was born in Koteshwara, a coastal town located in the Kundapur taluk of Karnataka's Udupi district. His father worked with the Sales Tax Department and traveled often.
After completing a BFA in painting from Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts, Mysuru in 1996, he received the Karnataka Lalit Kala Akademi Scholarship to pursue an MFA in museology from the from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda. During this time, he was also awarded the National Scholarship by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. In 2001-02, Tallur received the Commonwealth Scholarship to study Contemporary Fine Art Practice at Leeds Metropolitan University, United Kingdom.

Career

Tallur's early work, such as Unicode, Obituary and Milled History, is characterised by a recurring theme of value—monetary or otherwise—as a historical gauge of intersocietal and interpersonal relationships. Unicode features a Chola-era bronze of Nataraja obscured by a concrete lump embedded with coins. The sculpture, named after the universal coding protocol used across all computing devices, is a commentary on "the homogenising potential of globalisation and the elevation of money to the status of God."
In Obituary, we see a palanquin bearing a wooden log, into which a number of coins have been hammered. The viewers can add more coins to increase the value of the sculpture. However, with incense smoke engulfing the palanquin, the sculpture is reminiscent of both an altar and a funeral pyre, gently reminding us of the transient nature of wealth. To create Milled History, Tallur digitally scanned a wooden copy of a termite-ravaged temple figurine and then milled a replica from teakwood sandstone. The sculpture embodies conventional markers of age, making pointed references to the value we usually attribute to such signs of wear and tear.

Exhibitions

Selected solo exhibitions

Neti-Neti;Glitch in the Code Nature Morte, New Delhi, India Data Mining Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, India Vidi Vini Vici Linden Museum, Stuttgart, Germany V+Mana Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, India Chirag-e-AI Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, India Interference Fringe Grounds For Sculpture, New Jersey, United States of America Coinage UPM Circle, Manipal, India Smoke Out Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, India The Threshold Arario Gallery, Seoul, South Korea UKAI Nature Morte, New Delhi Balancing Act SCAD Museum of Art, Georgia, United States of America New Yorked Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, United States of America Montessori: Lessons in Economics Nature Morte, Berlin, Germany Password Nature Morte, New Delhi, India Quintessential Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai, India Chromatophobia—The Fear of Money Nature Morte, New Delhi Chromatophobia—The Fear of Money Arario Gallery, South Korea Chromatophobia—The Fear of Money Arario Gallery, Beijing, China PLACEBO Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, India Antimatter Arario New York, New York, United States of America

Selected group exhibitions

2024

2023

Find X Frida Art House, Pune, IndiaThings are Vanishing before us Gallery Dotwalk, Bikaner House, Delhi, India

2022

Kiaf Seoul Arario Gallery, Seoul, South KoreaFrieze-Seoul Arario Gallery, Seoul, South Korea and Nature Morte, New Delhi, IndiaPop South Asia: Artistic Explorations in the Popular Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesEarth Chronicles 1X1 Art Gallery, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesModus Operandi III: Together Alone Chemould Prescott Road Mumbai, IndiaManicured Techniques Nature Morte, New Delhi, India

2021

Reimagining the Object Chemold Prescott Road, Mumbai, India

2020

The Idea of the Acrobat Bikaner House, New Delhi, IndiaErasure Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Kolkata, IndiaGame of Chance Center for Arts, Goa, IndiaOut-site / Insight Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, India

2018

Modus Operandi Chemould Prescott road, Mumbai, India

2017

India and the World: History in Nine Stories, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai and National Museum, New Delhi, IndiaContemporary Art Acquisitions Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai, IndiaSub-Plots: Laughing in the Vernacular National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, IndiaArt in Counting House 21C Durham Museum Hotel, United States of AmericaPersevering Traditions Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India and Art DistrictXIII, New Delhi, India

2016

The Dream Must Turn Speculative Nature Morte, Mumbai, India

2015

Constructs / Constructions Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, IndiaAfter Midnight: Indian Moderns and Contemporary Indian Art Queens Museum, New York, United States of AmericaEncounters Art Basel, Hong Kong, China

2014

Mise En Scène, The School, Kinderhook, New York, United States of AmericaBeyond the Classical: Imagining the Ideal Across Time The National Academy Museum, New York, United States of AmericaBy Destiny Arario Museum, Jeju island, South KoreaUniversal Studios, Seoul: An Exhibition of Works by Foreign Artists Seoul Art Museum, South Korea

Awards

Personal life

Tallur splits his time between his family home in Karnataka, India and Daegu, South Korea, where his wife is from.