This exhibition features the work of two important artists, Alan Lowndes and Simeon Stafford, both of whom hail from the North.

Alan Lowndes has been under-rated for many years but he is now finally being recognised as a major artist and his paintings are selling for tens of thousands at auction.

The author Jonathan Riley is a huge Lowndes fan and has spent the last 11 years writing his biography. The finished book, all 250 pages of it, covers all periods of the artist's life and is lavishly illustrated with wonderful images of his paintings. Our show also coincides with a superb Alan Lowndes retrospective exhibition at Stockport Art Gallery.

All of these events will help to bring his work to a much wider audience and will enhance his reputation as an important artist.

Jonathan Riley also admires the work of the Dukinfield born artist, Simeon Stafford, so it was only natural that he wrote a book on him. We are very pleased to be able to launch this book at our exhibition. I first met Simeon in 1999 and have followed his progress over the years and have watched his work evolve. He is now enjoying great success. Simeon has inevitably been compared with L.S. Lowry and Alan Lowndes, but he has his own distinct style which is instantly recognisable. His work is constantly evolving, and he is best known for his trademark brightly coloured exuberant paintings with a predominantly white background. These paintings are full of humour and joy and make people smile. He has recently produced a series of northern scenes which are more loosely painted and use a darker palette of thickly applied paint. Many of these are very dramatic and quite a number of this genre are included in this exhibition.

Many of the paintings for sale are illustrated in two books by Jonathan Riley. Both books will be on sale at the exhibition.