Alex Margo Arden, Safety Curtain at Auto Italia – Where were we? Heading out of the greenness of that Sara Sadik show at Annka Kultys Gallery, past yet another Endless paste up and up the Bishop’s very own road to the rather frustrating often rather unfriendly rather aloof art space that is Auto Italia. Freezing tonight, it really is tempting to just head back home after Sara Sadik’s opening, Auto Italia is one of those unfriendly spaces that, like their near neighbours Cell Space, never seem to want to engage with the general public, one of those places the Arts Council seem to love, one of those places where shows go on for months and months when, outside of the opening night, it always seems utterly empty whenever I go in there. Actually, the last time I was in Auto italia I was closely followed around by the unresponsive invigilator who seemed convinced I was only there to steal something (not that there was much worth me having it on me toes with), that or she was acting out some kind of performance piece? She might have been? Rather like Cell Space, there is an occasional interesting show, usually something of a more academic nature rather than something with a visual bite. I don’t know, I’ve been dropping to Auto Italia, mostly on my way to The Approach, for years now, does it always have to be so stiff and formal? So unwilling to engage, so unfriendly? So unwelcoming other than on an opening night? Well even the open nights aren’t that friendly, you mostly feel like you’ve gatecrashed a private party, it really was temping to just go back to the studio last Thursday evening and squeeze out some fresh paint after the pleasure of that positively challenging questioning Sara Sadik show at Annka Kultys Gallery, kind of glad I didn’t though, at least I think I’m kind of glad? Was I? Oh I don’t know? What was going on?

“Auto Italia presents Safety Curtain, a solo exhibition of newly commissioned works by UK-based artist Alex Margo Arden. Spanning painting, sculpture, photography, and installation”.

Seems rather full for the opening, although a lot of the gallery floor space is taken up by the big packing case installation pieces full of ladders, bits of rope, emptly picture frames, that and the space taken up people in costume (rather than fancy dress), I assume they part of it rather than just himpster art students? Who really knows? Your guess is a good as any one of the enquiring pigeons sitting outside the Organ bunker right now. Whatever was going on the beautiful people are out last Thursday evening, it was almost New Romantic in there (or is it the cut price short-lived Romo revival version?), or were we actually on the run from West End theatre show? We’re they part of the show? I guess it is kind of fun on the surface, there in the shallow end, it maybe was, for once, kind of hard not to kind of like something happening at Auto Italia. Surely it wasn’t about the likes though, the endless selfies taken for Instagram or TikTok? Surely it was meant to be deeper than that? 

“Safety Curtain recovers evidence of recent actions by climate activists in museums and art galleries, considering how such actions change the histories of the artworks they have interjected. The exhibition speaks to the long history of protests in which artefacts have been targeted, including direct action by the suffragettes between 1913 and 1914, along with the vandalism of plaster cast collections during the 1960s student protests. With a new wave of climate activism taking artworks as their aim, tensions between activists and cultural institutions have re-emerged, raising questions of value, impact and access”. 

Recovers as in retrieves? Recovers as in covering again? Recovers as in throwing orange paint at national treasures?  Does a research project make for an engaging exhibition? Are we going to be cancelled for questioning any of this? I mean it kind of looks great in here, as an installation it kind of works, all these beautiful people and devilish tails and crates and old frames and can I have a lick of your ice cream? No, mind your own business…. 

“Safety Curtain includes the series Barricade (2024–25), comprising photographs of Arden’s backcloth painting of the same name hung in empty theatres, including the London Coliseum, Theatre Royal Drury Lane and the Royal Hippodrome Theatre. This work is juxtaposed with Cancelled Performance (2024–25), an installation on the gallery’s facade that references the cancellation of a performance of Les Misérables in London’s West End in 2023, following a mid-performance protest by climate activists. Composed of multiples of the same poster, the installation references the dissident practice of flyposting, featuring an overlaid addendum that the performance has been cancelled” –

None of which is immediately that obvious. Not that anything needs to be that obvious, ah, what the hell, kick out the jams, shot by both sides. Is this art or is it about art? Is it even about art? What is the point of art? What is the point here? What is the point of being here? Who cares what anyone says, we’re gonna do it anyway…

“The exhibition also presents a series of new paintings by Arden: reproductions of renowned artworks after being the target of direct action by protestors. By transcribing the works with the residue of the protests integrated into their compositions, Arden rematerialises, restages and gives permanence to the material impact of these actions. Among these works are Scene [29 May 2022; Louvre, Paris] I (2024), Scene [14 October 2022; National Gallery, London] (2024), Scene [14 June 2023; National Museum, Stockholm] (2024)”.    

Art as disruption? Shot by both sides? Mashed potato on a Monet? Who’s side is who’s? Are there sides? Is Alex Margo Arden sitting on a fence? Is there a fence? Is there even a fence to sit on? And what of those actions and do they really change the histories of the artworks? Just for a fleeting moment? Does anyone eve n reemmber the cream came thrown at that painting that’s on all those keyrings and tea towels?

Is this really what we need in a small art gallery on a rather quiet out of the way residential side street in East London, a gallerty that hardly anyone ever goes in to other than to hang out with their art school mates and stand with their backs to the art in the way of everything on an opening night? How many people actually do really go to this space and truely feel engaged other than for the jolly up on the open night? I bet there’s some days when not a single person sets foot inside the (mostly locked) door of Auto Italia…     

And hey, look at this; “Auto Italia wants to learn more about our live and digital audiences. Enter the survey for your chance to win a £100 voucher at Tenderbooks” or so they say on the gallery’s website. Look at them questions, are they having a giraffe? What is the point here? Keeping the mostly cluelessly not fit for purpose Arts Council happy?

I guess the opening night was kind of fun, entertaining for a Warholian fifteen minutes but what of that Van Gogh splashed with pea soup or that cream cake on the Mona Lisa’s boat race? What’s all that doing down the East End?

Still, the open night was fun, what a bleedin’ knees up it was, what liberties, ‘ave a butchers, look at ‘im dressed as a devil.

Is it about protest? Are we protesting too much? What do I know? Buzzcocks one and all? And all the time behind the scenes, the backstage activities, the shifts that take place with each reproduction. Is this show about protest? What is Arden actually saying here? Is there a standpoint? Are there layers to peel back? Onions to throw at statues? Physical? Figurative? I guess it is, in some kind way, on the surface, it is kind of enjoyable and we have been crying out for much too long, surely by now we need to dance to a different song? I don’t know, am I gonna scream and shout to my dying breath? Surely someone’s gonna smash it up ’till there’s nothing left, enough of this nonsense, words for the sake of it, art for arts sake.

I’ll go have another look on a Thursday afternoon when no one’s there taking selfies, see if there was any real point to any of it? See if I have anything to properly say after a slice of cold light of day? What’s the point in protesting? It probably was a fun opening for fifteen minute, kind of, maybe, wasn’t it? Maybe throw some cream cakes at….

Nah, let’s leave it, smash it up part two will be probably along sometime soon and them kind of monkeys can’t swing and those fish can’t fly and what do I know, oh no, what do I know… (sw)  

The Alex Margo Arden exhibition runs until 23rd March 2025. Auto Italia is found at 44 Bonner Road, London E2 9JS. The space is open Thursday to Sunday, midday until 5pm (although be aware, the front door is often locked and it can take time for someone to answer)

As always, do click on an image to enlarge it or to run the slide show…