In Penryn's Broad Street, squeezed between launderettes and bakeries, cafes and hardware stores, sits a small oasis of colour.

A first encounter with Penny MacBeth's gallery offers windows and walls crammed with objects, a richly vibrant assault of pinks and reds, lustre and twinkle; a magpie's fantasy land.

Look closer and it is clear that many of the paintings, ceramics, jewellery and other works on display are multi-layered pieces, each telling a story of some kind.

Scratch the surface still further and you will discover a dark place few can imagine.

The work on show for the debut exhibition of this extraordinary gallery space is that of the building's owner, Penny MacBeth, and acclaimed artist Linda Styles.

Entitled Otherwise It Will All Be For Nothing, the show is part homage, part catharsis, an opportunity for Linda to express, through her art, the experience of losing a child.

Two years ago, Linda received the news that her son Will, who grew up in Falmouth, had died in a fall while trying to climb into the window of his Plymouth flat after forgetting his key. A fit and healthy much-loved 23-year-old water sports instructor, his family and friends were, of course, devastated. Penny explained that in the months following Will's death Linda wrote a diary of her thoughts, a rambling succession of responses and memories. When Penny, a long-standing friend, said she planned to convert an 18th century terraced property in the centre of Penryn into an art gallery, Linda immediately offered to provide a body of themed work for its opening exhibition.

"Both Linda and I have always believed that art has the potential to be very powerful," said Penny. "We are both intuitive artists and because the best work comes from the heart it has the power to act in a therapeutic way."

Linda, who is best known for her ceramics, has created a series of shrine-like installations using a variety of materials, reminiscent of Hindu devotions but with a distinctively Cornish air. Penny, meanwhile, has made her own response to the tragedy by painting a number of large canvases featuring Will's girlfriend, Jessie Wallace.

No stranger to grief herself, having lost her husband, the Scots poet George MacBeth, to motor neurone disease, Penny said: "While I can't personally relate to what Linda has gone through, and continues to go through, I know that most of us have suffered and experienced different degrees of loss and bereavement. Doing the work for the show has been a transformational process for us both and because love and loss are themes everyone can relate to, the work is reaching out to a lot of people. As well as those who seek out new art, my neighbours in Broad Street and in Penryn generally have been very interested in the show. Students in particular are keen to see our approach and the town council has been very supportive."

However, rather than being unrelentingly gloomy, the exhibition speaks more of celebration. Paying tribute to her son, Linda said: "Will led an enormously active life and always challenged himself physically. He loved life and made the most of it and he packed more into a few years than most do in a lifetime."

Their exhibition is an extraordinary feast – why not pop in, settle down on the big red sofa and soak it up.