My work explores the cyclical and labor-intensive essence of human effort, using sculpture and performance to critique societal constructs surrounding work, value, and identity. Drawing from personal experiences and industrial motifs, my practice reframes mundane labor as symbolic and monumental, highlighting its transformative yet often futile rhythms.
Through meticulously crafted works - ranging from durational performances to large-scale mechanical sculptures - I juxtapose endurance and humor to interrogate hyperconsumption, power dynamics, and the commodification of time. I employ tools, rhythmic actions, and industrial aesthetics to blur the boundaries between creation and deconstruction, inviting audiences to consider the overlooked physical and psychological costs of labor in a work-oriented society.
Operating from Assembly House in Leeds, I create immersive experiences that center on the resilience and endurance inherent in labor, challenging perceptions of progress and futility while honoring the human stories interwoven with our collective rhythms of toil and rest.
CV
Glen Ogden
B.1998, Bedfordshire.
Education
2020 B.A. (Hons) Fine Art [1st Class], Leeds Arts University, Leeds
Solo Shows -
Non-Essential Workers, Assembly House, 2022
After You Vol.2 Live Performance showcase, Assembly House, 2021
Selected Group Shows -
2025
Assembly House Group Show, Assembly House, Leeds
Kirkstall Art Trail, Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds
2024
Shuffle, Tobacco Dock, Liverpool.
2023
Middlesbrough Art Week, The Auxiliary, Middlesbrough.
Assembly House Group Show, Seagulls Paint Recycling, Leeds
Zeitenwende, Contemporary Showroom, Berlin
BBA Artist Prize, Kaulhaus, Berlin
Aesthetica Art Prize, York Gallery, York
2021
Ones To Watch, Sunny Bank Mills, Leeds
Cut & Shut, Digital Showcase
2020
Untilted, Online Exhibition, Degree Show, Leeds Arts University
Locked-Up, Online Exhibition
Digital Programme, Online Exhibition, Assembly House
2019
Trading Spaces, Central Square Plaza & The Corn Exchange, Leeds
Yeah Man Fairs, Lambert's Yard, Leeds
Release, Wharf Chambers, Leeds
Colour Narrative, Leeds Arts University, Leeds
Residencies -
2025, AA2A Residency Scheme, York St Johns, York
2024, Creative In Residence, Leeds Arts University, Leeds
2021, Into The Wild Associates Programme, Online.
2020, Assembly House Residency, Leeds
2019, Scottish Sculpture Workshop, Lumsden
2018, Scottish Sculpture Workshop, Lumsden
Awards & Grants
Gilbert Bayes Award 2026 Winner
Be Still Media, Art has to come from the human experience, 2025, Second Prize Winner
ArtEvol: Voices of the undefined 2025, Shortlisted
Dover Art Prize 2023, Shortlisted
BBA Artist Prize 2023, Third Prize Winner
Aesthetica 2023, Longlisted
Commissions -
2021, Assembly House, Public Performance.
2019, Yorkshire Sculpture International, Public Sculpture.
Publications -
In Situ edition 3, TDSAP, Online magazine