Born in 1977, Alex grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland before moving to New Zealand in the late 1980s.She resides in Auckland, Aotearoa

Alex Monteith’s works explore the political dimensions of culture engaged in turmoil over land ownership, history and occupation. The works traverse political movements, contemporary sports, culture and social activities. Projects often take place in large-­‐scale or extreme geographies. Recent surfing related actions between 2014 and 2016 connect the museum directly to local geography through participatory performance projects engaging environmental questions. In 2010, a major survey exhibition titled Accelerated Geographies : Alex Monteith was presented at the Govett­‐Brewster Art Gallery;

"In 2010 the Govett-­‐Brewster made a strong commitment to support Alex Monteith’s practice through presenting a major solo exhibition at the Gallery that I curated. This decision was in recognition of the extraordinarily achievements made to date by this younger artist …The title of the exhibition, one of the Gallery’s most popular and critically acclaimed, was Alex Monteith: Accelerated Geographies." "This was only the third time in the Govett-­‐Brewster’s 42­‐year history that the entire Gallery has been dedicated to a single artist" - Rhana Davenport, eflux (2010)

In 2012 she was accorded a solo exhibition at the MMK Frankfurt, Germany; the first New Zealander to have exhibited there. She was a recipient of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand New Generation Award (2008), and a Walter’s Prize finalist (2010). She is represented by Gow Langsford gallery in Auckland and is currently a senior lecturer at the Elam School of Fine Arts, the University of Auckland, Aotearoa. She is also a member of the collective Local Time (Alex Monteith, Danny Butt, Jon Bywater, Natalie Robertson), and is a some-time political and environmental activist.

She received an Arts Foundation New Generation Award in 2008.