‘Lost & Found’ By Alison Friend

‘In this exhibition you’ll discover animals who have found treasures in lost belongings and discarded possessions, sparking moments of joy, nostalgia and unexpected pleasure’ – Alison Friend

A great, moody building of dark stone looms before you. Composed entirely of taupe bricks and sandwiched between rows of pale townhouses, the mind jumps to a blackened tooth in an otherwise perfect smile. The Royal Watercolour Society is a structure that draws the eye – there’s something solemn, something very serious indeed about the building. Standing in front of it, one is put in the mind of one of the apes from Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, gazing up at the dark, inscrutable face of the alien monolith. What secrets might it hold? What esoteric knowledge might be housed within its walls? And – most crucially – what effect would such dark knowledge have on a man’s soul? ‘The most merciful thing in the world,’ said H. P. Lovecraft, ‘is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.’

Today the building is filled with paintings of animals wearing people clothes.

A graduate of Nottingham Trent University with a degree in Fine Art and Printmaking, Alison Friend was also the first female stonemason for the City of Nottingham. An accomplished children’s illustrator of over 20 published books to date —with notable publishers such as Harper Collins, Nosy Crow, Hodder Children’s, Templar, Usbourne, Little Tiger Press and most recently Alfred Knopf. ‘Lost & Found’ is her latest exhibition, featuring a series of anthropomorphic animals doing everything from playing the saxophone to guiltily indulging in some donuts. It’s rife with charm and wit, and we couldn’t recommend it enough.

A British realist with a modernist vision, Friends’s paintings are inspired by nature and her ‘cheeky sense of humour’ – and fantastic technical ability aside, this is what really shines through in this exhibition. The idea in this series is capturing ‘the secret lives of animals’ – and each character comes to life on canvas whether they’re having a packet of crisps or hoarding tennis balls. One dog is even attempting to solve a Rubik’s cube.

‘I start off with an idea for a character,’ says Friend, when describing her process. ‘I have lots in my head. It’s like a waiting room – until it’s their time to come out! They do take on a life of their own. That’s what I love – I get to know them as the painting progresses.’

It’s this grasp of character that is the highlight of this idiosyncratic exhibition. Viewing the gallery, it feels as though – each time – a charming anthropomorphic animal actually swaggered into her studio and sat to be painted. It’s truly remarkable how fully realised and brimming with personality each piece is.

Fun for the whole family, School House Magazine recommends heading down to RWS Gallery 3-5 Whitcomb Street London – ‘Lost & Found’ by Alison Friend is open Monday – Sunday 11am – 5pm. But don’t dawdle – the exhibition closes on the 1st December 2024!