Alison Lambert first exhibited with the Long and Ryle Gallery in 1988 with a series of very large, powerful charcoal drawings of Greek and Roman inspired mythological narratives. These narratives were inventions which unfolded through her unique, newly inspired collage technique which she employed as a means to 'find' her images through the many changes she made. At this time, in the early 1980's, Lambert's work was often cited as being Neo-Classical. Neo-classicism was one of the many strands of the New Imagism movement that was current in the Art World.
Nearly forty years later, Lambert is once again, exhibiting with the Long and Ryle Gallery with a new series of myth-themed narrative drawings, though they have a very different appearance to her earlier works. These themes have emerged again through her drawing and her monotype process. Her initial idea, however, was to create imaginary landscape spaces but, from her preliminary layers of powdered charcoal, she began to see human forms and mythological creatures: two kinds of iconography and areas of deep interest that have clearly never left her imagination.
Lambert is well known for her larger-than-life human head drawings which have increasingly become an intense investigation into the human condition, rather than being portraits of particular people. Her recent exhibition at Derby Museum and Art Gallery, HUMAN EXPOLORATIONS: HEADS AND MYTHS (15th March - 4th May 2025) was testament to these two separate strands: the human head and the imaginary narrative works. These are two very different areas of her work, but both employ the same drawing techniques, and both feature the human figure and head. They rely on a continuing intuitive dialogue with the artist and are subject to many changes and alterations as she delves more deeply into her human and animal personas, often excavating whole areas of evolving works with a knife for tearing and erasers for rubbing out. New pieces of fresh paper are sometimes applied over the top so that the drawing can be changed and continued. Tearing off the complete surface of a drawing is often a last resort which can be a potential disaster with many weeks work being destroyed in the process. However, the resulting network of abstract marks can reveal new possibilities and ideas - all very anxiety provoking but exciting and nearly always surprising.
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