Castle Fine Art

I have been visiting this art gallery for years, either with my parents after a nice long lunch or passing through to brindley place. It is situated inside the ICC close to the new central library and symphony hall, right next to the restaurant Strada, so quite a busy area and very convenient if you have a few minutes to spare. It used to be called Halycon, but changed a few years ago. The staff are mostly the same though-​as friendly helpful and enthusiastic as ever:)
The art is all for sale (nearly all paintings but some sculptures), varying from £60−40k! But staff are more than happy for you just to browse. They try to pioneer local artists and a variety of styles. There are works by Salvador Dali, bob Dylan and even signed works by Stan lee. Get on their mailing list and you could get the chance to meet some of the artists and evening events and talks-​which are well worth it!

I have popped into Castle Fine Art on many a wander through the ICC, but had never really thought to review it until this weekend. This shop/​gallery is mainly a showcase for pieces for sale, but that doesn’t take away from it being a lovely place to pop in and have a gander at the different artist showcases and paintings and sculptures for sale.
As well as many permanent exhibitions (Salvador Dali and Bob Dylan for example), there are guest artists who pop up in this Gallery. On walking by on Sunday, we noticed that there was an Alex Ross (DC and Marvel) showcase and decided to pop in and have a look. There are also pieces by local Birmingham artists (Temper as a prime example), which I can’t imagine you would find in other Castle Gallery shops over the country.
The art here (as you can imagine) is always of a particularly high standard, which comes with a particularly high price tag. That being said, I was particularly taken by a piece by Xue which was a moderately priced painting at £295.
The shop is set up as a gallery for browsing and as such, the staff aren’t sniffy about people coming in and having a look at the pieces. It’s worth 20 minutes of your time just to see sculpture that comes with a £60,000 price tag!
The space is quite dark (to conserve the paintings), but it’s warm and welcoming. Again, it won’t take you long to have a look at all the pieces on display but even if you’ve only got a passing appreciation of art you’ll definitely find it’s a good 20 minutes well spent.

A convenient centrally located art gallery within the ICC complex, this offers both contemporary and good classical art.
I liked the paintings, sculptures and they even have a Bob Dylan hand signed limited edition graphics collection on display!
I remember the bright red coloured lip sofa you see as you walk in, which reminded me of something out of Absolutely Fabulous, darling.
During the weekends it can get very busy in here, especially when the ICC Symphony hall has a show on. So if you can, best to visit this free gallery during the week days.
A good day out, but you may also find you can spend a lot of time in here.