By Friday three artists will transform a small, modest white room into a goldmine of paintings, illuminating the once-bare walls with colorful pieces depicting comical and dark themes. It’s a far cry from the “shithouse” where the trio began working.

Artists Colin Burns, David Hochbaum and Travis Lindquist — the collaborative art group known as The Goldmine Shithouse — have been developing an exhibit for Gallery Mornea, 602 Davis St., since early May.

“I think it’s great,” Gallery Mornea Manager Richard Davis said of the exhibit, which opens Friday. “What we’ve done is infused a New York consciousness, intensity and craftsmanship into the North Shore of Chicago.”

The eclectic group, named for the high-quality work they produced in Lindquist’s less-than-perfect New York studio, have been residing in the gallery since May 3, working from late afternoon until sunrise on pieces that reflect their eccentric, East-Coast style.

Michael Monar, Gallery Mornea’s director, sought out the trio after their success at an exhibition in the Metalstone Gallery in New York.

The artists first met as students in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Although they did not know each other well, Hochbaum said they admired each other’s work from afar.

They met again in New York and collaborated on some small works. Then, on a Saturday night about two months ago, Hochbaum and Lindquist transformed their small joint projects into much larger works. Each began a painting and the other altered it until they agreed it was finished. The process became a weekly activity and they soon invited Burns to paint with them.

“When we finished, we were all saying that it was the best time we had ever had on a Saturday night,” Hochbaum said.

The trio never said they never considered selling the paintings until a friend asked them to make one for his collection.

“I said, ‘Buy us supplies and a lot of beer’ and in two days we had a 12 by 8 piece,” Hochbaum said. “The guy we did it for flipped out. It was so amazing.”

The Metalstone invited the group to live in their gallery for six days and create pieces for a show which sold 15 paintings in one night.

The artists attribute their success to their ability to inspire each other. They also cite the spontaneous nature of their artistic process.

“When you bring a certain idea into a painting, it’s going to be worked and manipulated,” Lindquist said.

The group also said their experiences in the Midwest will influence the art in their exhibit. Burns said he finds Evanston “sweet” while Hochbaum noted that “a lot of people wear pants” in comparison to New York.

“There’s a nice Starbucks,” Lindquist said. “And another nice Starbucks. They were both nice.”

Although this is their first collaborative effort outside of New York, the trio said they would like to share their art around the country.

“We’d even go to Ohio,” Hochbaum said.