City Art Centre, Edinburgh

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/leisure/CEC_museums_and_galleries

City Art Centre is right by Waverley Station opposite The Fruitmarket Gallery, housed in a former Victorian warehouse. This is a substantial set of spaces for showing the gallery's collection and programme of temporary exhibitions. The centre also includes a dedicated education floor.

The substantial collection includes historical, modern and contemporary works with a focus on Scottish artists, artists working in Scotland and works with a strong Scottish connection. Artists represented in the collection include Callum Innes, Chad McCail and Wendy McMurdo. Installations and photographic works by Graham Fagen, Rose Frain and Nathan Coley were purchased as part of the National Collecting Scheme for Scotland.

The collection is displayed through an ongoing series of temporary exhibitions that develop a particular theme or perspective on visual art practice.


Guest editor’s note:
This building is very much a series of spaces for temporary exhibitions. Often there are three or four shows, with an emphasis on the visual arts but including presentations that cover a whole range of subjects, appealing to visitors of many ages and interests.

The gallery's fine art collection is a consistent and welcome thread in the programme, making it possible to see wonderful paintings, sculptures and drawings by many important Scottish artists. Historical city and seascapes appear alongside quirky and contemporary works, thoughtfully curated and displayed to give valuable new insights.

Reviewed by: Jane Warrilow