With sunshine and snow in equal measure, we cheerfully embrace the fresh, invigorating spirit of spring. Opening the month with an explosion of colour and movement is the gallery’s newest exhibition, ‘Breaking Free’. Bringing together a chromatic collection of wild, uninhibited paintings by Terence Clarke, Julian Mason and Terry Evans, the gallery’s spring show celebrates bright and bold new beginnings in an unrestrained natural world. Guaranteed to energise and electrify collectors of contemporary art, we would highly recommend a visit to the gallery to see the collection in person before the show comes to a close on Sunday, the 1st of May.

For those who have not yet seen the gallery’s Instagram posts, this month the gallery had a special treat from esteemed painters Michael John Ashcroft, ROI and David Sawyer, RBA on their recent visit to York: an afternoon of plein air painting. Setting up their easels just a stone’s throw away from York Minster, we, along with the other passing residents and tourists of York, had the opportunity to watch these two masters at work. To witness as an artist’s vision begins to translate and take shape before your very eyes is as mesmerising as it is profound. Combined with blue skies and bright sunshine, it truly was the perfect day. We made sure to capture as much as we could to immortalise this special occasion, so head over to our Instagram to enjoy the plethora of footage and bask in the day over and over again.

The gallery is also excited to now be on the cusp of our very first solo exhibition of work by contemporary artist Sean Durkin, ‘Sean Durkin: Art for All!’. Steeped in the grit and humour of England’s industrial past and the proud working people who raised its foundations, Sean’s paintings brim with stories too often untold. Shining a light on people and places frequently overlooked, this exclusive collection of work proudly declares and asserts the egalitarian nature of fine art, justly placing its myriad pleasures back into the hands of all. The exhibition opens on Friday, the 20th of May and runs until Sunday, the 5th of June, with an exciting opportunity to meet Sean on Saturday, the 21st of May. Like Sean’s work, the exhibition is full of surprises. So be sure to register your interest with a member of gallery staff to be the first to know as these details are revealed.

In addition to new work from Julian Mason, Michael John Ashcroft, ROI and David Sawyer, RBA, this month the gallery was also delighted to receive new work from Daniel Van der Putten, Raymond Campbell, Stephen Park and Wayne Westwood’s estate. We are also expecting to receive new work from Sean Durkin and Clare Haley in the coming weeks, so do keep an eye out on our Recently Acquired page or register your interest with a member of gallery staff to get the first look at any new arrivals.

We wish you the very best and look forward to welcoming you to the gallery soon.