Alex Margo Arden

Alex Margo Arden investigates the production, interpretation, and reconstruction of histories through performative and theatrical methodologies. Her work often interrogates the concepts of authority, authenticity, and labor, exploring how narratives are mediated, transformed, and restaged over time. Arden employs techniques such as remaking, re-performance, and "evidence recovery," using materials like oil paint, canvas, and found objects to translate events, actions, or interventions into new visual forms. By reconstructing moments of protest or activism, she examines the interplay between materiality, media representation, and societal memory. Her practice emphasizes process and interpretation, highlighting the subjective and constructed nature of history. Through her immersive approach, Arden encourages reflection on how stories are told, remembered, and transformed, revealing the tension between personal experience, collective memory, and institutional authority in shaping understanding. ...

The Approach is co-directed by Jake Miller and Emma Robertson. Located in Bethnal Green above The Approach Tavern, for over twenty years it has operated an internationally recognised programme from its East London base. The gallery is known for discovering artists and establishing their careers as well as making inter-generational curated group shows a strong focus. The list of represented artists includes the Estates of important overlooked female artists Heidi Bucher and Maria Pinińska Bereś, as well as seminal British collage artist John Stezaker, together with established and emerging artists including Magali Reus, Peter Davies, Lisa Oppenheim, Sandra Mujinga, Pam Evelyn, Sara Cwynar, Sam Windett and Caitlin Keogh. Over the years the gallery has operated parallel programmes in additional gallery spaces in London’s West End (The Approach W1) and in Shoreditch (The Reliance). The gallery is currently based solely in its original East End location and continues to expand its programme, showcasing its represented artists in the main gallery space, and both represented and non-represented artists in The Annexe, a smaller, more experimental space at the back of the building. ...