After two years running Centerpiece gallery at CityCenter, MCQ Fine Art Advisory moves back to its Downtown home to resume its gallery and advisory services, focusing heavily on Las Vegas artists.

“It’s a great time to be back Downtown,” says MCQ owner Michele Quinn, referring to the Smith Center and other developments taking place in the area. “Centerpiece was great because we were able to experiment and do things on a larger scale. But it doesn’t make financial sense going forward. We always knew it wasn’t meant to be long-term.”

The retail and gallery space opened in 2009 as an arrangement between Aria and MCQ that would highlight work by the artists and architects featured in CityCenter.

Quinn introduced the Locals Only Series that exhibited solo shows from Las Vegas artists. The receptions were friendly, well-attended events, but the tough economy, tough location (in the valet at Mandarin Oriental) and tough audience made for a quiet gallery on other days. Two years after it opened, Aria decided to not go forward with the gallery.

MCQ opened after G-C Projects closed in 2007 on Main Street in the Arts District, and Quinn decided to focus on advisory services, offering rotating exhibits (from Richard Serra to Ripper Jordan), film screenings and other events.

While the spacious Centerpiece allowed for the mounting of larger works, particularly those in the Marilyn Minter exhibit, it didn’t preclude MCQ from holding occasional events from its 620 S. Seventh Street Salon, and Quinn and staff plan to continue the Locals Only Series at the Downtown location.

Additionally, MCQ, which was briefly involved in curating art at First Friday under its new ownership, took over the consulting and curating of the new collection at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, which will include more Las Vegas artists.

Those who haven’t seen the JW Caldwell and David Levinthal exhibit at Centerpiece might want to check it out in the next week or two.