THE ever-evolving York gallery According To McGee has undergone a particularly colourful transition for its latest exhibition, Smash! Visual Art ReGrooved.

UK urban art, contemporary ceramics and, most glaringly, a bright yellow facade herald the 15th anniversary of what director Greg McGee calls “a celebration of our future”. “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, and this is us gearing up for the next 15 years,” he says.

Pointing to the newly painted vivid yellow of the gallery front in Tower Street, Greg is typically defiant in his ebullience. “We’ve never shied away from announcing our intentions with the equivalent of a firework display.

“I wouldn’t say that that explains our success or longevity, but there’s a lot of noise and colour out there generally, and over the years we’ve found that audacity has grabbed the attention of browsers who have become loyal clients and patrons. We’re directly opposite Clifford’s Tower, we’re perfectly placed to stand out.”

Co-director Ails McGee is keen to underline that this audacity is underpinned by artistic high standards in the Smash! show. “We’ve gone shopping in terms of bringing in new artists who have their own groundswell of collectors,” she says.

“Horace Panter is, of course, the bassist from The Specials and his latest collection of Pop Art originals includes collaborations with Los Angeles artists Nan Coffey and Louis Cannizarro, and his work is being internationally snapped up.

“Chris Rivers is back from the Asia Contemporary Art Fair with a new collection of sweetly macabre landscapes. Excitingly, we’re also introducing to the north for the first time the urban art of Dscreet, the artist making bigger and bigger waves with his enigmatic owl depictions on the walls and shutters of East London."

Delighted by the impact of the work, as much as the new yellow livery, Greg says: “We’re getting the right kind of attention from collectors who now eye York as a crucial stop to augment their portfolio."

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Special talent: artist and musician Horace Panter

Smash! is, almost by definition, an attempt by the McGees to “shatter the expectations of different types of art, as well as the gallery experience”. A case in point is the prevalence of contemporary ceramics and other items, such as 3D printed pots and experimental items, displayed alongside the prints and paintings.

Rebecca Boulton has produced hand-made minimalist pieces made up of concrete, polymer, and pigment. Layla Khoo provides provocative multi-media pieces, such as porcelain paperclay pots and Stop! Collaborate & Listen, her whimsical and exclusive collaboration with The Killing Tree.

Layla says: “Ceramic objects have a familiarity to them. I find it interesting to expand on that. I am inspired by objects and work that can evoke a response and curiosity in the viewer.”

Knaresborough artist David Austin Duckworth brings to the mix his latest collection of Raku-fired ceramics, inspired primarily by the changing of light in Cornwall.

Ails is pleased with the response to the re-boot. “For a start, our window display has a lot more to look at! You many not want to purchase a painting for your wall, but there’s always room for a unique pot. It’s all beautiful work, and it’s given us as a gallery an extra arm to reach out to a new cohort of customers,” she says.

The 2D artwork benefits from a similarly diverse approach. Hanging on the walls are not only the urban and Pop artists but also perennial McGee favourites David Baumforth, Freya Horsley and Patrick Smith: all painters who, although contemporary, are of a more traditional bent than their co-exhibitors.

Greg sees their inclusion as vindication that the medium of paint is as relevant as ever. “These are seascapes and landscapes from painters at the top of their game,” he says. “Smash! is in essence a punk exhibition. It’s more punk to exhibit a contemporary landscape artist such as Patrick Smith alongside the urban owl art of Dscreet than to exclusively pigeon-hole genres. It’s the synergy that helps smash this one out of the park!"

Smash! Visual Art ReGrooved runs until Easter 2019 at According To McGee, Tower Street, York; open Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm; Sundays, 1pm to 4pm.