The Unseen Art of Quentin Blake and Illustrations of the Refugee Crisis, House of Illustration

The devil is in the details when it comes to art. Intricate lines and expressive shapes generate emotion from a knowing audience, and serve educational purposes under the right eye too. This December, House of Illustration is offering a pair of exhibitions to enchant and inform in equal measure.

Cast your mind back to the storybooks of Roald Dahl and you might just remember the drawings of Quentin Blake – and now, fifty years of unseen work are finally on show. Elsewhere, the refugee crisis is by no means solved, but hopefully the first UK exhibition can do something to spread awareness.

In 100 Figures: The Unseen Art of Quentin Blake, large-scale oil paintings, drawings and prints showcase a lifetime of figurative art by the UK's most celebrated illustrator. Blake attended life-drawing classes at Chelsea School of Art in the 1950s, which spawned an affinity for figures and characters. The figurative technique on show contrasts with the artist's well-known illustrations, but serves a vital purpose in offering a richer insight into the style we know and love so much.

12 illustrators have come together for Journeys Drawn: Illustration from the Refugee Crisis, an exhibition documenting refugee journeys both observed and experienced first-hand over the past three years. Anchored in the brutal truth of injustice, Journeys Drawn strays from Blake's figurative and erotic ambition but hardly loses any creativity.

From animation on an Elton John soundtrack to war zone reportage, the artists in Journeys Drawn use vivid and eclectic means of expression to educate and entertain an audience simultaneously. The illustrators are based all over the world and use their singular experience both in art and society to teach an important awareness.

A contrasting pair but somewhat complimentary, with a ticket to House of Illustration this December you can access any exhibition. Why not plan a day around both 100 Figures and Journeys Drawn; by rediscovering lost relics of an artistic pillar and better understanding a political climate through art with a message, the marriage of both exhibitions could be, after all, incredibly harmonious.