National Galleries Scotland: Modern Two

The building that houses the Modern Two is architecturally interesting. You have to pay to enter this building. On the first Monday of every month you can choose how much you want to pay with a minimum starting amount of two pounds. There are a number of rooms that display the latest exhibits, in this case it was Resistance. This consists of photographs showing activism in the United Kingdom over the last century. It was quite interesting comparing the past to what is happening today. There are toilets, which were clean, a small gift shop and a cafe. There was also a car park. There are some sculptures outside the building which can be seen for free. Staff were welcoming and happy to chat. There is disabled access to all floors. You have to go to the rear of the building for step free access. There are disabled parking spaces in the carpark and there is a disabled toilet.

Its a lovely building which currently houses one exhibition over 6 rooms on two floors. Resistance by Steve McQueen ws excellent. A great cafe and small shop. Parking is onside and free.

It’s a little off the beaten track so tends to be quieter than some of the other National Galleries in the city. Modern Art 2 (The Dean) is smaller than its sibling just across the road so tends to be used for special exhibits. However it does house the more pleasant cafe. The cafe provides the opportunity to eat under the feet of Vulcan, a two story high sculpture by Edinburgh local Paolozzi. The one downside to the cafe is you need to go to the counter to see the cakes for the day and to order, yet you also need to have a table number for where you’re sitting. The amount of times I’ve gone to order and returned to my table to find other people had now sat there. It’s not a sensible system and I wish they’d change it

Not really free entry its £14 ticket which is not worth because the exhibition wasn’t very impressive. Hardly spent couple of minutes inside and moved on. Location was nice though sitting in the middle of green grassy open space.

Wonderful neo-classical building housing numerous thought-provoking works of art over several floors. The artfully created concentric lawn, pond and sculpture are impressive. All kinds of medium are on display. There is a gift shop and a cafe in the ground floor with good offerings. Admission is free. A donation will be gratefully accepted. A path at the rear of the building leads to steep stairs and pathways along the ‘Water of Leith.’ I came away asking myself, ‘What is Art?’

In Edinburgh and specifically Modern Two, I had the pleasure of leveraging the accessibility of spaces that hold art galleries and their subsequent programs e.g. shops, resource centres (the Reading Room as they call it) and even the beautiful accompanying views both inside and looking out – with one of Jencks’ renowned landscapes. Pleased to have caught “Decades: The Art of Change (1900-1980)” in August ‘23, with works reflecting societal change of respective decades: war-time scarcity pushing creativity to its limits and beyond, optimism and realism that came out of post-war decades, and societal stability seeing the emergence of playful and more experimental art. The exhibition hosts reputable works of Donald Judd, Salvadore Dali, Yayoi Kusama, and Piet Mondrian, among many others. The gallery is also permanently home to a recreation of Sir Eduardo Paolozzi’s studio filled with sculptures and his art-making tools curated with such a humane touch, almost coming to life.

Nice gallery located in a beautiful building.  Although it looks massive from the outside,  it's actually not that big, as a lot of the areas were closed to the public when we visited. The admission is free, and they have different art exhibitions. When we visited, there was an exhibition dedicated to Eduardo Paolozzi, who was a Scottish artist known for his sculpture and graphic works. In the galery there is a big cafe area and a gift shop. If you’re an art fan, you will definitely enjoy the gallery.

The women in revolt exhibition is an absolute must. Troubling, makes you think,sometimes funny and super artistic. Walking to the museum from the city center was beautiful (it was a sunny day in Edinburgh after all).