The Best Art Galleries Miami Has to Offer
When someone says Miami, the first thing that comes to mind are probably not art galleries in Miami, but beautiful beaches, long sunny days, palm trees, and if you’re a summer lover, that’s all you’ll ever need. But if you’re an art lover too, then you’re in for a real treat, because the art scene of Miami has flourished into a rich and versatile one. Regarded as the proto Los Angeles, the palm-studied metropolis combines productivity and decadence perfectly. Offering numerous opportunities for Miami artists, such as the available space, and relatively low costs, this mysteriously enchanting place has an extremely diverse cultural output and is influenced by both American and Latin American traditions.
The city is a home to Art Basel Miami Beach – a premier art fair for contemporary art in the United States. For more than a decade, the fair has been a place of annual pilgrimage, attracting art collectors and art enthusiasts from all over the globe. Yet, if you end up there during some other time of the year, you won’t be disappointed either. Besides famous institutions such as Museum of Contemporary Art or Bass Museum of Art, there are also relatively new venues such as the new Pérez Art Museum Miami designed by Herzog & de Meuron opened in 2013 and the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami (ICA) launched in December 2014. Over the course of the last ten years, two of the city’s neighborhoods, the Design District and the nearby Wynwood, have become famous for their ever-changing art scene that today houses around 200 galleries and artist-run spaces. Art galleries in Miami range from beach bungalows to blue chip ones committed to high-quality, cutting-edge art across all mediums. Having an international acclaim, these places have maintained a strong sense of community spirit by supporting local artists and taking art to the streets.
Among all those spectacular venues, we chose 15 art galleries in Miami we think you should definitely check out! Scroll down and get a quick preview!
Featured images: Fredric Snitzer Gallery; Robert Fontaine Gallery; Markowicz Fine Art Gallery; Locust Projects, via piterest.com; David Castillo Gallery, via miamiartscene.com
Locust Projects, An Experimental Exhibition Space
An experimental exhibition space, Locust Projects is dedicated to supporting the freedom of contemporary visual artists. It is run and founded in 1998 by artists Elizabeth Withstandley, Westen Charles, and COOPER. As one of the first art organizations to move into the vibrant Wynwood Art District, the gallery works with local, national and international artists. They support the creation of site-specific installations as an extension of the artists’ representative work. Besides well-curated exhibitions, the gallery organizes free education programs and initiatives.
Featured image: Locust Projects, via locustprojects.com
Gregg Shienbaum Fine Art, Focusing on Contemporary Prints
Another one of those spaces where you don’t know which way to turn – because there’s great art everywhere. Gregg Shienbaum Fine Art focuses on works in various media, with a special emphasis on contemporary prints and multiples. There, you will find many contemporary masters, like Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Jim Dine or Roy Lichtenstein, and as of recently, they also started adding new emerging artists to their base. But that’s not all – as part of a new project, they have established a publishing company, focusing on the teaching and funding of printmaking to emerging artists.
Featured image: Gregg Shienbaum Fine Art.
ART LEXÏNG, Being at the Forefront of Contemporary Chinese Art
Located in the design community Miami Ironside in the historical Upper Eastside neighborhood, ART LEXÏNG was founded in 2010 by a gallerist and artist’s agent Lexing Zhang. Since then, the gallery has positioned itself at the forefront of contemporary Chinese art. Having innovative programming and developing partnerships with art institutions throughout the United States and Europe, the gallery promotes museum-quality pieces from emerging artists whose practice spans across photography, sculpture, and traditional two-dimensional media. The gallery has two floors, ground being dedicated to contemporary art, and the second showcasing contemporary design.
Featured image: Art Lexing, via pierreeliedepibarc.com
Dina Mitrani, A Photography Gallery
Ever since its opening in 2008, Dina Mitrani Gallery has been one of the leading Miami art galleries focusing exclusively on photography. The gallery often collaborates with independent curators and other art institutions in order to produce important exhibitions dedicated to the photographic work of both emerging and established artists, like Sebastiao Salgado and Marina Font. Owned by curator Dina Mitrani, the gallery is located in the ex-clothing factory her father used to own for four decades. Today it is home to some of the finest photographic pieces, both classic and contemporary.
Featured image: Dina Mitrani Gallery.
Spinello Projects, A Place for Experimental Art
With a mission to initiate change in the cultural landscape of Miami, Spinello Projects is at the same time a gallery, design house and innovative platform for site-specific artworks and projects. Founded by Anthony Spinello in 2005, it hosts exhibitions that are innovative, intellectual and span across all mediums. The gallery features pieces by both local and international artists who produce groundbreaking experimental work such as TYPOE, Sinisa Kukec, Antoni Wright, Agustina Woodgate, and Naama Tsabar. The gallery also produces events such as Littlest Sister.
Featured image: Spinello Projects, Installation View
Avant Gallery, Forward-Looking Hotspot
Founded in Miami Beach in 2007, Avant Gallery is an innovative and forward-looking hotspot. With a mission to electrify the spirit of their visitors and deliver inspiration through cutting-edge art and design, the gallery offers an evolving collection of critically acclaimed contemporary art and design pieces curated with limited availability and unlimited personality. Their roster consists of world-renowned, mid-career and emerging talent whose practice encompasses fields of art, design, and passionate manufacturing. It also features street art, fine art, photography, objets d’art, lighting, sculpture, and other unique collectibles.
Featured image: Avant Gallery, via nbsnbs.com
Emerson Dorsch, A Pioneering Miami Gallery
A leading contemporary gallery and a pioneering institution in the city, Emerson Dorsch is the former Dorsch Gallery that was initially founded by Brook Dorsch. Located in the vibrant Wynwood District, the gallery has a central figure in the area’s internationally acclaimed art scene. With art historian and curator Tyler Emerson-Dorsch joining as a partner in 2008, the gallery’s program was pushed in order for it to position at the forefront of the avant-garde discourse. They represent a diverse selection of both emerging and established artists such as Frances Trombly, Victoria Fu and Clifton Childree.
Featured images: Emerson Dorsch, Victoria Fu Installation View, via dorschgallery.com
Vince Fine Arts, Contemporary/Ephemera
Miami’s Vince Fine Arts features contemporary/ephemera pieces by blue chip and emerging artists in sculpture, paintings, drawings and printed matter. The list of their artists is quite impressive: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, Jackson Pollock, Kenny Scharf and Julian Schnabel, just to name a few. The venue also has an incredible shop with an extensive collection of artworks by, say, Andy Warhol, and some at very affordable prices too. Vince Fine Arts is proud to say they’re primary and secondary market leaders with such wide range of works, so make sure you stop by and check them out!
Featured image: Vince Fine Arts.
Markowicz Fine Art - A Fine Collection
Located in the heart of the Miami Design District, the Markowicz Fine Art gallery is home to so many famous, internationally renowned artists that you will think you’re in an art heaven. Just think: on their walls, you can find artworks by Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Keith Haring, Francis Bacon, Takashi Murakami or Alex Katz; which means that their wonderful collection consists of a wide range of mediums, from sculptures to paintings, digital art and even street art. The gallery is also a regular participant at many international art fairs and organizes a number of exhibitions throughout the year.
Featured images: Courtesy of Markowicz Fine Art.
Fredric Snitzer Gallery, A Miami Veteran
Present on the Miami art scene since the late 1970s, Fredric Snitzer Gallery is one of the most cutting-edge venues in the city. Its leading role in the local art world has helped build careers of many artists like Hernan Bas and Naomi Fischer, and with such a respected mentor like Fredric Snitzer behind it all, the gallery’s success comes as no surprise. Throughout the year, the gallery presents an impressive range of exhibitions, both solo and group, and it is an inevitable fixture of art fairs and the Second Saturday Art Walks, Miami’s must-do event if you’re an art lover in search of the best the city can offer.
Featured image: Fredric Snitzer Gallery.
Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami's Finest
Known for hosting exhibitions of artists like Henrietta Harris, Nick Gentry and David Walker, Robert Fontaine Gallery represents a platform for both established and emerging artists, whose pieces range from Post-War period to today. It practices an intellectually rigorous curatorial stance through a carefully selected group of art professionals, and it continues to cover national and international exhibitions worldwide. Many collectors find the Robert Fontaine Gallery one of the most approachable art spaces for their business and passion and it is also the favorite of many art lovers alike.
Featured images: Courtesy of Robert Fontaine Gallery.
David Castillo Gallery, A Conceptual Heaven
After transforming a dilapidated warehouse in Miami into a 5,000 square foot gallery, David Castillo Gallery relocated to the historic Albert Anis 420 Lincoln Road building in Miami Beach. Their curatorial method revolves around conceptual art and the investigation of identity. Their artists base includes legends like Louise Bourgeois, Marcel Duchamp, Claes Oldenburg and Cy Twombly, among many others, establishing them as one of the most important art venues of Miami. The gallery is a regular participant of art fairs such as Art Basel Miami Beach and The Armory Show in New York.
Featured image: David Castillo Gallery.
The Wynwood Walls Miami, Street Art Hub
This wonderful location is not your everyday art gallery. Rather, it’s a street art heaven, founded by the late Tony Goldman in 2009, a man famous for his great ideas for the environment and its communities. Since then, the Wynwood Walls program has seen over 50 artists representing 16 countries and have covered over 80,000 square feet of walls. With always something happening and a choice of restaurants, the area is a dreamland for street art lovers, as it is certain you will find a graffiti piece or a mural done by your favorite artist. If you’re ever in Miami, make sure you don’t miss out on visiting!
Featured image: The Wynwood Walls Gallery.
WYN 317, Celebrating Urban Art
WYN 317 is a place where national and international urban artists meet the local ones, showing the very best of Miami’s unique urban landscape. They are interested in pieces ranging from the area’s graffiti culture to a wide array of vibrant pop art influences. Recently, a group exhibition of artworks hand-painted onto skate decks was held there, along with their silent auction. At their store, you can find an interesting collection of artworks, from originals to prints and apparel, featuring artists like Atomik, Amanda Valdes, Joe Iurato, CHNK and many others, at affordable prices.
Featured image: WYN 317
m+V ART Miami, A Lucky Encounter
M+V Art Miami has a rather interesting story behind its creation. It was founded by Valentina Garcia and Mali Parkerson after the two met through a job interview. Combining their experiences, those being the one from Sotheby’s in New York and a prestigious gallery, they started an ambitious project, now located in the iconic Wynwood building at the heart of the district. M+V Art is dedicated to the management and representation of established contemporary artists and also provides collectors advisory services in Modern and Contemporary art. Of course, they also organize exhibitions, and of great quality too.
Featured image: M+V Art Miami.