York art gallery According to McGee are set to launch their year long 10th anniversary celebrations with an exhibition celebrating the freshest work from Goldsmiths and Glasgow School of Art graduates. ‘Garage Projects’, comprising of Rae Hicks, Paul Crook, Jack Park, Mary Wintour, Ian Parkin and Will Thompson, are bringing ‘Beginnings, Middles, Ends’ to the centre of York and According to McGee husband and wife team Greg and Ails McGee are understandably excited. “It’s a timely reminder to us and to our collectors that we are dedicated to championing the latest wave of collectable artists in the UK. The guys in ‘Garage Projects’ are as professional as anyone we’ve ever dealt with, and their work is spiky, provocative and beautifully finished,” comments co-director Greg McGee. Says co-director Ails McGee, “It’s a project that has been brought about by the success of previous exhibitions from our charity New Visuality, especially our work with world class photo realist Nathan Walsh. The commercial success of the last two year’s New Visuality exhibitions have meant that we can now afford to bankroll wonderful projects like this. Goldsmiths and Glasgow are internationally well respected institutions, and the calibre of ‘Garage Projects’ is testament to their guidance and energy. All exhibiting artists have been professional, prompt and a pleasure to work with. Now all we have to do is get the show opened and have a blast. Contemporary galleries are made for exhibitions like this.”

Garage Projects are certainly set for exciting things. Their show at Nottingham’s Bohunk Institute was a reminder that the UK contemporary art scene is as irreverent and irrepressible as ever, and the members of the team are not shy in collecting awards or harnessing international exhibition experience: Rae Hicks and Mary Wintour were both shortlisted for 2013’s year’s Griffin Art prize, Ian Parkin has shown in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Havana, Will Thompson has shown in London, Glasgow, Rae Hicks has also recently shown in Copenhagen and Mary has also shown in Glasgow. Not bad for an outfit fresh off the block, and quite a coup for the northern art scene. Says Ian Parkin, “We’re looking forward to coming to York. With the exception of Will (Thompson) we all live and work in London, which is in various ways, a world unto itself and it is quite easy to get lost in the insularity of that. Beginnings, Middles, Ends is our second show as Garage Projects and neither of these shows have been in London which I’ve really enjoyed. It’s a really good experience to be able to leave town as a group and spend a few days in a new place putting on a show surrounded by new people.”

Says New Visuality publicist Johan Keely, “It’s the perfect show with which to herald our 10th anniversary. Our overseas collectors are especially excited. You have to remember that the British brand, on the whole, transfers very well across international borders, and these artists are seen as the creme de la creme. We have Chinese collectors who have already ordered signed copies of the Garage Projects limited edition ‘exhibition posters’. And the beauty of it is is that all proceeds go to our charity New Visuality which will ensure future exhibitions from graduates.”

Ails McGee is especially excited about exporting the posters. “The exhibition posters are, in the According to McGee tradition, as desirable and collectable as the work used to inspire them. we’re selling them online, and they’re connecting very well. We’re exporting them to art spaces in Moscow and St Petersburg in spring, and we’ll be looking at importing some great Russian art too, courtesy of art collector and Managing Director of Globus International Language Centres Crichton Brauer. Says Crichton, “We are delighted to help exhibit new, exciting, British works from New Visuality in a number of prominent restaurants and cafes in both Moscow and St Petersburg as well as in our language schools, as part of the UK-Russia year of culture. I hope this will help promote new talent both in the UK and Russia.”

“In other words,” says Ails, “It’s the best possible start to celebrating our 10th anniversary.”

Garage Projects: www.g-a-r-a-g-e.co.uk/Garage-Projects
According to McGee: www.accordingtomcgee.com
New Visuality: www.newvisuality.com

By Viv on January 18, 2014