Jai Chuhan

Jai Chuhan uses vivid, expressionistic painting to engage with themes of refuge, identity, and the female experience. Her work often positions solitary female figures within abstracted, room-like spaces, highlighting psychological tensions and the complex interplay between agency and subjection. Through these compositions, Chuhan challenges conventional notions of voyeurism, eroticism, and the gaze, offering layered and nuanced perspectives on the body and identity. Drawing from her dual Indian-British heritage, Chuhan merges Western painting traditions with dynamic poses inspired by classical Indian sculpture. Her use of fluid layers of color and energetic brushwork imbues her figures with motion and emotional resonance, reflecting both personal experience and broader cultural narratives. Chuhan’s practice treats the body as a site where individual and societal narratives intersect, investigating power, freedom, and the complexities of the female gaze. Through her expressive compositions, she creates spaces that engage viewers in reflections on identity, representation, and belonging, establishing a dialogue between the personal and the collective. ...

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. ...