What do our pets do when we’re gone?
Are they flexing their creative capacities on an Etch A Sketch, sneaking forbidden treats, or indulging in their secret vices?
British illustrator Alison Friend exercises her imagination to explore these questions and much more in her current solo exhibition, ‘While You Were Out…‘ at Harman Projects Los Angeles.
Her new series of pet portraits unveils cats and dogs taking inspiration from their human counterparts, enjoying the splendours of food, drink, and household objects with unbridled freedom. Alison’s stylistic approach with oils perfectly mirrors the traditional heart of portrait painting, while bringing a new breath of life with her playful theme. “I’m trying to depict funny contemporary characters with their modern relatable vices,” she shares. “They are the complete opposite to the often dour, porcelain-skinned human subjects in the portraits of the Old Masters, but I want that traditional feel for my paintings.”
From the witty to the downright adorable, Alison encourages us to see our furry friends in a new light, while also appreciating just how much we often see ourselves within our pets.
Alison Friend: ‘While You Were Out…‘
Exhibition Dates: March 09 – 30, 2024
Harman Projects Los Angeles
2754 S La Cienega Blvd Suite B | Los Angeles, CA 90034
Phone: +1 310-730-6164
Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 6pm
For additional information, images, or feature opportunities, please contact LA@harmanprojects.com.
I start off with an idea for a character. I have lots in my head. It’s like a waiting room until it’s their time to come out! As strong as an idea for a character is, they do take on a life of their own. That’s what I love. I get to know them as the painting progresses.
We think of them as having human emotions and I try to capture that. It’s how we connect with the animals in our lives. Hopefully I bring just enough to the work for the viewer to create their own story for the subject. I want the viewer to be part of the creative process.
Alison Friend
About the Gallery //
Harman Projects was founded in 2022 by curator and gallerist Ken Harman Hashimoto. Their goal is to provide an inclusive and welcoming environment to foster a community of like-minded artists, collectors, and art lovers in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and beyond. The focus at Harman Projects is broad but lies mainly in the New Contemporary genre, encompassing historical movements such as New York City graffiti and SoCal pop- surrealism alongside contemporary schools of art such as Bay Area abstracted realism, International muralism and Japanese-inspired SuperFlat.
About the artist Alison Friend //
Alison Friend graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 1996 with a degree in Fine Art specialising in Printmaking. Between the years 2001-2007 Friend lived in the United States, where she realised her ambition to become a children’s book illustrator. She signed her first contract with Candlewick Press in 2007 when she had just arrived back in the UK. Though a prolific illustrator since then, the combination of the pandemic slowing down publishing and extra time to explore traditional painting methods saw many hours in front of an easel- painting became a fundamental and primary part of Friend’s practice.
Friend’s paintings are sold to collectors all over the world and she has exhibited both nationally and internationally in cities like London, Manchester, Walsall, Scotland, and Los Angeles, and has participated in several online exhibitions with international galleries.
