British artist Richard Woods is feted by the art and architectural worlds and has a string of high-profile commissions to his name. His bold, colourful art installation is the first to be exhibited in Modern Art Oxford’s new street-level courtyard area The Yard, and is already a huge hit with gallery visitors and passers by.

It is surprising, then, to hear him describe himself as “an enthusiastic amateur”. What he means by that, he goes on to explain, is that his work cannot be neatly pigeon-holed into any one particular category.

“Artistic and creative licence crosses boundaries. I collaborate a lot with other artists and designers and I enjoy that because it disrupts my thought patterns and makes me think in a fresh way.

“People want to be able to label what I do by saying: “that is art” or “this is design” and “that must be fashion” but a far more interesting place is just to have an opinion.

“It is interesting to be an enthusiastic amateur who crosses boundaries — that is a very useful place to be.”

His comic-book style installation in MAO’s new entrance area is certainly attention grabbing, something that was always his intention.

“People are wandering up and down in the street outside and what we have done here makes them look in.

“Michael (Stanley) and I both liked the idea of opening up the gallery to the city,” he added.

He is renowned for his signature architectural transformations that use hand-printed wood-block printed floors, walls and exterior elevations.

These are all wielded to great effect here, casting a colourful spell over the floor, walls, seating, table tops, bean bags, lighting and even tea towels and aprons for the café staff.

The effect is like stepping into a cartoon or graphic novel world jam-packed with larger-than-life shapes and colours.

Even the new roller-shutter door that opens onto St Ebbes Street is a vital part of the whole, enlivened with horizontal stripes of bright yellow, orange, cream and white so that even when MAO is closed, the world outside will still share in its art.

“The colours take more from the world of graphics than they do from the natural world,” Richard explained.

“My intention was to take what is seen as a natural thing, then superimposed it with the world of graphics because I wanted to highlight the contrast,” he added.

He is referring to the eco-friendly timber casing that architects dRMM used to create the new courtyard structure.

Richard’s part in the project took six months from his early sketches to completion, during which, he said, he enjoyed working with the team of architects and designers.

He comes across as a very calm, relaxed person, at odds with the popular idea of artistic temperament.

“I can have a bit of a strop if it goes all wrong,” he admitted.

“But I don’t believe that the sole concept of one idea is more interesting than when people discuss something. I like working in a large studio set-up, as part of a team.”

Born in Cheshire, he honed his skills during a degree course at Winchester School of Art in 1988, graduating with honours and following it up with an MA at the highly-regarded Slade School of Fine Art.

One of just nine artists chosen for the Barclays Young Artist Award in 1991, he exhibited at London’s Serpentine Gallery.

Since 1994, he has staged solo shows all around the world, including London, New York, Athens, Rome, Paris, Berlin and Turin.

Much of his most highly regarded work over the past decade has been in collaboration with architects and designers on landmark buildings such as the Perry Rubenstein Gallery in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum and NewBUILD at New College here in Oxford.

Although he lives and works in London, he clearly has much respect and affection for Modern Art Oxford.

“It is a very important art institution in the art world. People from London go to Oxford especially to visit it. But many of those who live in Oxford forget about it — and that is the irony.” he added.

Thanks to the makeover the building has received, its extended programme of events and now Richard Woods’ magical touch, that state of affairs is unlikely to continue.