THE work of Dave Pearson, who died in 2008, returns to York as part of a duo exhibition with Barry De More at the According To McGee gallery in Tower Street.

Guernsey born and Elland based, De More presents his latest collection of oil-bejewelled cityscapes to complement the much missed Pearson’s cardboard reliefs and etchings.

Barry De More, Dave Pearson: Modern Masters launched last Saturday and gallery co-director Ails McGee could not be happier with the show. "It's exciting to get Barry’s paintings here for the first time," she says. "His work is succulent, beautifully composed and gorgeously applied. I visited him in his studio over a year ago and was blown away by the heft of his painterly technique, and just how well his approach represents contemporary painting.”

De More’s paintings can be found in private collections, including the Royal Collection after being invited by Calderdale College of Art to present Prince Andrew with a painting from his Foundry Series, 2003.

“My work is influenced by Constable, Turner, Sickert, The Impressionists, Auerbach and Kossoff," says De More, who has 35 years of making artworks to his name. “The main focus of interest is street scenes. There are figures in the public spaces, which interests me, the interplay of architecture and people moving. Buildings and architecture from the local area of Elland and West Yorkshire also fascinate me.”

De More enthuses over his inaugural York exhibition: “This show allows me to show a body of work to a wider audience. The opportunity to be represented by According To McGee has allowed me to network with collectors, other painters and curators.”

The paint’s texture and application is just as important as the subject matter in De More's paintings, suggests gallery co-director Greg McGee. "Although the paintings look simple, it's a complex process to bring them to completion," he says.

He is delighted with how they hang in the gallery. “The light in the front gallery is thick and gentle and brings out the trembling texture of the impasto. It’s not every painter who can make his work look just as fabulous and layered from a distance as from up close, and Barry manages it with a real sense of joy,” he says.

York Press:

An etching by the late Dave Pearson, on show at According To McGee, opposite Clifford's Tower

Greg is especially excited by the synergy between the two artists. “We’re big, big fans of Dave Pearson’s output. By any standard, he was one of the most important British painters of the last century, and the buzz and sales generated from his work reflect that. We've represented his work in York for the last four years or so. This is an opportunity to bring a new outlook to his collection; indeed it brings a new dimension to De More’s work. Both artists reflect each other in interesting ways.”

Bob Frith, who runs The Dave Pearson Trust, agrees. “We're delighted at how well the pairing works. There's something of an overlap between Barry's impasto and the heavy relief of Dave's large coloured pieces. But there's more importantly a weight and integrity to the work of both artists that makes them work well together.”

Ails McGee feels that the northern contemporary art scene has never been better. “There are all kinds of reasons, whether it’s a backlash against the YBAs (Young British Artists) of the ‘90s, or that there’s stronger autonomy with all this talk of a 'Northern Powerhouse'. There’s something in the air. Northern contemporary painters feel very relevant at the moment and if we can help reflect that with our Modern Masters series, then we feel as if we’re doing our job as a gallery.”

Barry De More, Dave Pearson: Modern Masters runs at According To McGee, Tower Street, York, until November 7, followed immediately by Doug Binder: From the Life.