ONE of Britain's greatest living artists, painter Alan Davie, has unveiled his latest exhibition.

Fifteen large-scale paintings, forming part of the Magic Symbolism exhibition, will go on display at Harrogate's Mercer Art Gallery tomorrow.

Born in Scotland in 1920, Mr Davie rose to fame in the 1950s when he set the British art scene alight with his pioneering abstract work.

His early reputation was boosted when he was championed by the American art collector Peggy Guggenheim and he was soon exhibiting internationally.

With a prolific career spanning nearly 60 years, he is now firmly established as one of the country's leading painters.

Mr Davie said: "It's never the case in my work of having an idea first and putting it down on paper.

"It is very much like improvising on a piano - sitting down and playing, an idea will appear out of putting one note against another, which leads to other notes, and before you know where you are a melodic line has appeared and a harmonic structure presents itself."

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