Allison (b.1955 Auckland) spent his childhood amidst what he describes as the ‘paradise of the Kaikoura coastline’ in New Zealand and is best known for his large outdoor works that deal with landscape and consider the human condition. Large in scale (and in the early years exhibiting a strong theatrical imagery influenced by his employment as a scenic artist) Allison works with a wide range of materials including stone, wood, bronze, glass – or often with various materials in combination - which he places in landscape where they take on a sense of “belonging”.

Allison attended Nelson College NZ and there developed an early interest in casting techniques, then moved to the UK and graduated from the Canterbury School of Fine Arts in 1978. After graduating Allison worked at the Court Theatre in Christchurch as a scenic artist and set designer before traveling to England in 1984 to establish a bronze casting facility in London called Red Bronze Studio. This was re-located to Oxfordshire in 1993 as Lockbund Sculpture fine art bronze casting and Lockbund Gallery.