Constituting this exhibition of work by Edinburgh printmakers are a handful of understated prints hung up two flights of stairs at the Royal Over-Seas League. Production techniques on display range from lithography to screenprinting and relief, but with etchings always dominating. The artists all work locally and these examples of their art can be purchased in framed or unframed states; a poster draws attention to the Own Art scheme, which offers interest-free monthly payments as a purchase incentive for members of the public. Certainly, many of the prints on display would make a worthy decorative addition to the home.
There are a handful of lovely two-tone views of Edinburgh by Cat Outram, visualizing the city from slightly unusual vantage points and highlighting sky or grass with a bold block of colour. Matthew Carey Simos contributes quirky adventure scenes and a gorgeous use of retro hues, whilst Andy Cumming strikes a bolder, darker note with woodcut prints which call out to graphic art. One of the most interesting prints is a vivid, abstracted yellow landscape which evokes cartographic designs, created by Shelagh Atkinson.
With only half a staircase’s worth of prints and nothing strikingly original on show, this is nothing worth going out of your way for. Taken as a whole, the prints don’t amount to a must-see experience or an artistic triumph. That said, many of the pieces are delightful and show great skill, and the location couldn’t be any more convenient. If you are on Princes Street (and you will be many times over), this could well be worth fifteen minutes of your time.
