ON A day when half of Thirsk seemed to be off to the races, the Zillah Bell opened an exhibition dedicated to another nag – and the betting is it will prove hugely popular.

More than 40 artists were invited to produce work inspired by the Kilburn White Horse. There is some jewellery and sculpture, but mostly pictorial art in many mediums and styles, with artists’ response to the brief ranging from the conventional to the intentionally comical.

The familiar flat shape of the horse, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2007, abounds everywhere, though Durham artist Jonathan Trowell stands out for having subsumed the obvious image in generalised landscapes viewed from afar. Richard Snowden takes a playful approach, placing the horse amid bold, quirky colours reminiscent of Chagall; Alistair Brookes lets it shimmer and glow in pastel-like shades. Mike Clay raises laughter, not least in “The White Sheep,” in which a guilty-looking farmer holding a paintbrush is about to be caught “white-handed”; Roger Kohn’s delightful drawings give the horse an imaginative adventure off the hill – trotting, prancing, or with Lady Godiva on its back. Similar artistic licence is found elsewhere, a bit sentimental, perhaps, but fun.

The small back room finds the horse in winter, a chilly place, all blue and grey, dramatically charged by Tom Wanless visualising the scene in gorgeous shades of brilliant moonlight. For heat, move to the next room and Tess Lord’s semi-abstract patterns in vibrant orange-reds.

The exhibition continues until May 30. – Pru Farrier