Conjuring teeming urban jungles — where four-headed leopards perch on pyramids and silver-teethed monkeys pray for salvation — Manik Raj Nakra reimagines the ancient world as an extension of our own.

Through bold, contemporary applications of paint, woodblock printing, collage, ceramic stucco, and mixed media, Nakra fuses Indian iconography, colonial relics, and mythological motifs to explore civilization’s enduring relationships with power, ritual, desire, and transformation. From his early series The Tigering!, an expansive collection of over 150 works on paper depicting India’s historical tiger attacks, to his monumental 42ft x 102ft mural reinterpreting the Greek myth of Icarus, Nakra has become known for his dynamic compositions—where striking colors and intricate patterns collide to examine our animal instincts and reconnect modern life with the natural world.

Over the past decade, Nakra’s work has been showcased in numerous solo and group exhibitions across Texas and California, including at The University of Texas and The Contemporary Museum Austin. His work has been recognized in publications like Oxford American, Cosmopolitan India, and New American Paintings. In 2023, he was the fourth artist commissioned to paint the facade of The Contemporary Austin—Jones Center, joining a legacy of renown international artists: Deborah Roberts, Daniel Johnston and Jenny Holzer. This large scale public work is on display in downtown Austin through Summer 2025. In Spring 2025, Manik Raj Nakra was named head curator of the Cage Match Project. An outdoor gallery housed inside a 20ft x 8ft x 7ft industrial steel cage in Austin, Texas.

B. 1982 Olympia, Washington USA