Thukral & Tagra India, b.1976
Thukral & Tagra are a New Delhi–based artist duo whose multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, installation, painting, video, performance, and participatory projects. Their work critically examines contemporary life through themes of consumerism, identity, aspiration, politics, and the contradictions of a rapidly transforming society. Drawing on popular culture, advertising, sport, and everyday visual language, they employ humour, satire, and spectacle as tools for social critique, often inviting audiences into immersive environments that blur the boundaries between art and lived experience.
Their work has been exhibited widely at major institutions and platforms including the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum; Yorkshire Sculpture Park; Manchester Museum; SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah; Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Noida; Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong and Singapore; Kunstverein Ludwigsburg, Germany; and the Singapore Tyler Print Institute, among others. They have also participated in major international contexts such as Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Dubai, and Tokyo Art Fair.
Nature Morte has presented numerous solo exhibitions by Thukral & Tagra, including recent exhibitions in 2025 (Nature Morte, New Delhi); Arboretum: Ebb and Flow (Nature Morte, Mumbai, 2024); Arboretum (Nature Morte, New Delhi, 2023); Conjecture (2021); Bread, Circuses and I (2019); Q: The Lighthouse (2015); Q (Mumbai, 2013); Longing for Tomorrow (Berlin, 2012); and a sustained programme of solo exhibitions with Nature Morte since 2005.
The duo lives and works in Gurugram, India.
Selected Artworks
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2024
Arboretum, SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia, USA
Arboretum: Ebb and Flow, Nature Morte, Mumbai, India
2023
Arboretum, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
Prussian Blue - Aftermath, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Noida, India
2021
Farmer is a Wrestler (Virtual), Lexicon of Distress 2021, Art at a Time Like This
Conjecture, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2020
Nafrat/ Parvah, The Pond, New Delhi, India
Kisan Mukti March, Art Asia Museum, San Francisco, USA
2019
Bread, Circuses and I, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
Lullaments2, Kunstverein Ludwigsburg, Stuttgart, Germany
Double Bounce, Pearl Lam Galleries, Singapore
Bread, Circuses & TBD, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, London, UK
Farmer is a Wrestler, Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, Chandigarh, India
Lullaments, Stir Gallery, New Delhi, India
Memoir Bar, Piramal Art Foundation, Mumbai, India
2018
Escape: ‘A playground of ephemerality’-Vision Exchange, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Somnium Seminibus II, Michela Negrini Contemporary Art, Lugano, Switzerland
Collection Bureau, India Art Fai, New Delhi, India, Presented by Nature Morte
2017
Bread, Circuses & Wifi, Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong
Bread, Circuses & You, Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE
Play, Pray, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India, Presented by Nature Morte
2016–17
Memoir Bar (Travelling Exhibition), Chatterjee and Lal, Mumbai, India
Dubai Design Week, Dubai, UAE
Foundation of Indian Contemporary Art, New Delhi, India
2016
Walk of Life (Travelling Exhibition), Manchester Museum, Manchester, UK
Kendall College of Art and Design Galleries, Michigan, USA
2015
Games People Play, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, Mumbai, India
Lets dye for each other, India Design ID, New Delhi, India
Q: The Lighthouse, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2013
Q, Famous Studio, Mumbai, India, Presented by Nature Morte
Mirabilia Collection, Etro, London, UK
Longing for Tomorrow-II, German Embassy, New Delhi, India
Windows of Opportunity, Art Plural, Singapore
2012
Longing for Tomorrow, Nature Morte, Berlin, Germany
Nosturistic, Hilger Contemporary, Vienna, Austria
2011
German Return, Nature Morte, Gurgaon, India
Put It On, Again!, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
The Beautiful Game, Project Booth, India Art Summit, New Delhi, India, Presented by Foundation Thukral and Tagra
Science Mystery Magic, Tokyo Art Fair, Tokyo, Japan, Presented by Tokyo Gallery + Beijing Tokyo Art Projects
2010
Middle Class Dreams, Arario Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Low-Tech Family Vacations, Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore
Match Fixed/Fixed Match, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
2009
Nouveau Riche, Nature Morte, Berlin, Germany
Thukral & Tagra, 315 Sector 23, Opp Bosedk Mall, Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Sydney, Australia
2008
Somnium Genero 02, Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Sydney, Australia
Somnium Genero Cafe, Tokyo Art Fair, Tokyo, Japan
2007
Adolescere-Domus, Art Basel Miami Beach, New York, USA, Presented by Nature Morte and Bose Pacia
Put it On, Bose Pacia, New York, USA
Everyday Bosedk, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2006
Vector Classics (Travelling Exhibition), Jehangir Nicholson Gallery, Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation, Mumbai, India
National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai, India
Alliance Francaise, New Delhi, India
2005
Iconography, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
Group Exhibitions
2023
A Demonstration of Ornamentation, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
Prussian Blue: The Accidental Colour That Changed the Course of Art, KNMA, Noida, India
2022
Non-fungible Speculations, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kerala, India
Pop South Asia, KNMA, Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE
Biennal Contemporary Art, Mardin, Turkey
2021
Climate Anxiety in a Single Breath- Verbal Kabaddi, Waltham Forest Council, London, UK
Markers of Time and Space, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2020
How to Reappear: Through the quivering leaves of independent publishing, Mohammed and Mahera Abu Ghazaleh Foundation, Amman, Jordan
The Sundry Effect, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India, Presented by Gallery Ragini
How to Maneuver: Shape-shifting texts and other publishing tactics, Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2019
Table Manners - Racing the Galaxy, Palace of Independence, Astana, Kazakhstan
Match Fixed/Fixed Match, Le Tripostal, Lille, France
2018
Raw Collaborative Design Gallery, Mill Owners’ Association, Ahmedabad, India
Breaking Ground, India Ceramics Triennale, Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur, India
Collection Bureau, India Art Fair, New Delhi, India, in collaboration with Prayas Abhinav
2017
The Sculpture Park, Curated by Peter Nagy, Madhavendra Palace, Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur, India
Set Point_Laughing in the Vernacular, National Gallery of Modern Art and Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India
Walk of Life, Alchemy Festival, Southbank Centre, London, UK
2016
Walk of Life, Level 01, Khoj International Artists’ Association, New Delhi, India
The Droste Effect, Brussels, Belgium, Presented by Nature Morte and The Independent
Outer Market- History in Motion, TING Arts, Paris, France
2015
Of Games Residencies III, Khoj International Artists’ Association, New Delhi, India
2014
Sparsha: Touching the Senses Ritual and Contemporary Indian Art, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Bochum, Germany
Ethereal, Leila Heller Gallery, New York, USA
All Well & Good?!, Herbert Gerisch Stiftung, Neumunster, Germany
Art Guild House T&T sports, Phoenix Market, Mumbai, India
2013
Island, Dairy Art Centre, London, UK
Panoplism, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2012
Indian Highway, Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
Escape Pinball Airlines, India Today, Arken Museum of Modern Art, Arken, Denmark
India- Lado A Lado, Social Service of Commerce Belenzinho, Belenzinho, Brazil
2011
The Matter Within, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, USA
Indian Highway V, Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
Paris Delhi Bombay, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Asianart: Sustain, Nature Morte, Berlin, Germany
Maximum India, Kennedy Center, Washington D.C., USA
Concurrent India, Tennis Palace, Helsinki Art Museum (HAM), Helsinki, Finland
Vernacular Cultures: Contemporary Art from Australia, India and the Philippines, LaTrobe University Museum of Art, Melbourne, Australia
Indian Highway IV, Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon, France
Avant Premiere, Art Plural Gallery, Singapore
Future Pass (Travelling Exhibition), Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
Wereld Museum, Rotterdam, Germany
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan
Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
Escaped!... While I Was Cooking?, Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland
2010
Finding India, Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan
SAMDIGIT, Gallery 5, Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
Bosedk Project, Richmond Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Urban Matters 2, SESC Pompéia, São Paulo, Brazil
In Context: Public. Art. Ecology, Select City Mall, New Delhi, India, Presented by Khoj International Artists’ Association
11th Hour, Tang Contemporary, Beijing, China
Inside India, Palazzo Saluzzo di Paesana, Turin, Italy
Commonwealth Games Exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
2009
Escape for the Dream Land, Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Arts 06, Brisbane, Australia, Presented by Queensland Art Gallery
Hi! I am India- Escape for the Dream Land, Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Arts 06, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
2008–09
Chalo! India: A New Era of Indian Art (Travelling Exhibition), Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea
Essl Museum, Vienna, Austria
2008
The Audience & the Eavesdropper: new art from India & Pakistan (Travelling Exhibition)
Phillips, London, UK
Phillips, New York, USA
Make Art Stop AIDS, Fowler Museum, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, USA
Imaginary Realities, Max Wigram Gallery, London, UK
Face East, Weidel Fine Art, London, UK
2007
Animamix Biennial, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China
New Delhi New Wave, Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
Size Matters, Art Consult, New Delhi, India
Galerie Mirchandani & Steinruecke, Mumbai, India
2006
Global Edit 06, Armani Casa, Milan, Italy
Awards
2014
Creative Minds Of The Year, Hello! Hall of Fame
2012
GQ Man of The Year, GQ, Mumbai, India
2006
101 Emerging Designers of the World, Global Edit, Wallpaper Magazine, Milan, Italy
2005
D & AD, New York, USA
One Show Interactive, New York, USA
2004
Limca Book of Records, New York, USA
2003–2004
One Show Design, New York, USA
2003
Red Hot Ogilvy
Graphis International Awards
London International Awards, London, UK