Move over Paris, the Modern Masters are in York, according to McGee

The inaugural Modern Masters show came to a close last weekend after a month showcasing "some of the most collectible contemporary painters north of Paris".

The next show begins tomorrow, focusing on De More and Pearson, after Harry Malkin, Doug Binder and Jake Attree featured prominently over the past month, alongside them.

Gallery director Greg McGee feels that the Modern Masters show, the first in a series that will launch tri-annually, has helped hammer home the Tower Street gallery's philosophy. "It's all about painting and whether or not it hits you in the guts," he says.

"At art college in the '90s, we were continually told that painting is patriarchal, or bourgeois, or moribund, and that there were all these other genres that were somehow more exciting and liberating. We've dabbled with all that as a gallery and it's not until you find yourself yawning in puzzlement at an exhibition that you yourself have curated that you realise that conceptual art is, at best, a misnomer.

"So, for a few years now, we've zipped up our boots and gone back to our painterly roots. Never before, however, have we had such gallant company."

Greg is referring to the star-studded collective of "masters" that made up the title of the show. "We acquired from a private collector some old-school Jake Attree paintings from 1990, seven foot-tall portraits of pedestrians in Manhattan," he says.

"Alongside, there were opulently painted works from Barry De More; figurative work from legendary painter Doug Binder and depictions of life one mile underground from ex-miner Harry Malkin, and that was just the front gallery."

Co-director Ails McGee at According To McGee's Modern Masters exhibition

Co-director Ails McGee is looking forward to the McGees' next few exhibitions, "We have calendared them until late 2017 and they are, for the most part, the artists you see around you in this group exhibition," she says.

"There'll be a duo show for our favourite abstract painter, Jo Brown; solo shows for the likes of Doug Binder, and duo shows with Freya Horsley and David Baumforth, two artists who can harness the elemental magic of the north and its light, its spray, its cold, better than any painters we've ever worked with."

Baumforth has enjoyed a resurgence with his Turner-esque seascapes reaching a wider, international circle of collectors, "That's not so much to do with us; we have the clients but Baumforth's commitment to bottling the beauty of the North Sea is out there on its own," says Ails. "His latest series shows an artist at the top of his game."

She then points to the work of Dave Pearson, first shown in the back gallery. "These were snapped up on the opening event. Dave was an extremely important painter (he died in 2008) and the collection he left behind is carefully managed by the Dave Pearson Trust. The synergy he has with the work of Barry De More can stop you in your tracks, and so we now have a duo exhibition of more De More and Pearson works ready to launch on October 11," says Ails.

"What's great is that with the first Modrn Masters show, both artists have been introduced to collectors and followers of art and they've gone down a storm. The best thing about Modern Masters as a group show is that it makes the requisite splash, and all the subsequent shows can easily follow in its wake as the exhibiting artists took part in the group show initially.

"We've really excited about the way it has reached a much bigger audience than previous strategies. I think the title Modern Masters might have had something to with it too!"

Greg is unapologetic about that title. "It's one way of cutting through the noise of modern times," he says. "There's so much on offer, not all of it of a high standard, that sometimes you need a battle cry to reach out and grab attention. Every one of these painters is world class, I firmly believe that, and if you can't shout 'Modern Masters' when you've called your gallery According to McGee then you're being too modest."

No invitations are necessary for the Barry De More and Dave Pearson: Modern Masters show launches tomorrow. "If you like contemporary painting and you're in York that day, you're welcome to come over," says Ails. "We're sure you'll agree that the painting scene in the north is in pretty fine fettle."