The Guild Art Gallery is pleased to present, Domus Vulgus, the New York debut show of Contemporary India artist Apnavi Thacker. Born in Bombay, India and brought up in Geneva, Switzerland, Apnavi Thacker grew up benefiting from two very different cultures. Her experiences in both cities have had a major impact on her work. Apnavi is a self-taught artist, although she gained valuable knowledge and experience during her two years of training under the guidance of Bose Krishnamachari. Her work addresses such issues as the possible link between a woman and her self-confidence and level of comfort with her sexuality, and the impact of urban development on the environment.

Her work retains a focus on street art, common in most cities around the world although it remains non-existent in Bombay. Apnavi has exhibited in Bombay in both solo and group shows. This includes the Mumbai Festival in 2005, for which she was commissioned to do a single piece inspired by her thoughts on the city of Bombay, and the Kala Ghoda festival in 2006 for which she created an installation consisting of urinals. The works represent a continuation of themes based on urban development.

For DOMUS VULGUS, Thacker will literally recreate a shack, similar to the ones seen in slum dwellings of the city of Mumbai, India, as well as paintings. Being a street artist Thacker has developed a keen eye for urban environments and in particular what society would term as urban decay – meaning the vast slum areas that are now synonymous with urban construction and the landscape of Mumbai. Her initial practice as an artist in Switzerland exposed her to street art and graffiti something that is virtually non-existent in India. Thackers work therefore amalgamates the visual aesthetic of street art from one culture and the literal visual and functional aspects of street culture in another, to conjure up strongly individualistic, socio-political statements.

About her work, Thacker says:

Through my work I want to be able to provide an insight on the dichotomy of these two lifestyles and thereby the blatant socio-economic barrier that divides them. An underlying theme which is equally important is the use of space by the two disparate segments of society… My canvas works are often dark but they’re not negative. They are reflections of my thought process and the struggle within me to adapt to the great dichotomy which is Bombay.