Ten Best Art Galleries in Broward County

The South Florida art scene has never been hotter, and Florida’s arguably most cultural region is sizzling with creativity. Many might attribute this to Miami’s flourishing Wynwood District and December’s notable Art Basel Miami Beach, and while this certainly rings true, please don’t let Miami’s artsy hub take all the credit. With the monthly Art Walks and ever-burgeoning FATVillage, Broward County has its own thriving art scene. And that’s not to mention the numerous art galleries speckled across its cities. Where to start? From the traditional to the contemporary (and everything in between), we’ve rounded up the ten best galleries in Broward County. 

10. North Beach Art Gallery
3334 NE 34th St., Fort Lauderdale
Works by both emerging artists and modern masters, including Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Theo Tobiasse, Erte, and John Pitre, have found a home in North Beach Art Gallery. A pulse of energy and positivity buzzes around this gallery thanks in part to the colorful selections that adorn the walls and the enthusiasm of gallery director Brooke Trace. A package deal, North Beach Art Gallery not only showcases decadent art but offers custom framing, art restorations, and art appraisals, among other services. Every month, the gallery expands its gifts to the outdoors to host Art on the Plaza on the Galt Ocean Plaza, which features not just art but live painting and entertainment to raise money for a charity of the month. Art can’t get much better than that.

9. Wentworth Gallery
819 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
If you’re looking for a gallery with a bit of everything, Wentworth Gallery is where it’s at. From abstract and pop to surrealism and hyper-realism, the range of genres displayed by Wentworth is anything but slim. Wentworth is also known to feature works of quite a few goldmine artists including Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, and Peter Max. Michael Godard recently showcased his signature use of animated olives, drunken grapes, and dancing strawberries that adorn martinis mirroring a lighthearted perspective on life while flipping the conservative art world upside down. Coming up, from 1 to 3 p.m. on October 29, 3D pop artist Charles Fazzino will be exhibiting his vibrant and exceptionally detailed pieces rooted in whimsy and fantasy.

8. Frederick Fine Art Gallery
3275 N. Dixie Hwy., Fort Lauderdale
When it comes to the high-spirited Frederick Fine Art Gallery, let’s just say that owner Lars Frederick Hegelund really knows his stuff. His curatorial eye was trained by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, a schooling which kicked off an impressive art background that includes six medals for architectural achievements and lecturing stints at Oxford and Cambridge in England (to name only a few of many accomplishments). South Florida is lucky to have this man of many talents curating a high-end selection of work that encompasses many art periods including impressionism, realism, and classic modernism. But this isn’t your average art gallery — it’s also filled to the brim with antiques ripe with history. Between these, sculptures, and paintings, this gallery is overflowing with enough goods to feed your inner artist.

7. ArtsUP! Concepts
521 NW First Ave., Fort Lauderdale
Relatively new to the art scene in Broward County, ArtsUP! features 5,000 square feet of ambition when it comes to experiential contemporary art. Here, you’ll find an experience like no other. Up above, your eyes will feast on art installations hanging from the ceiling. Below, you’ll find a massive space dedicated to events or programs, such as Brittni S. Winkler’s monthly art-interactive yoga workshops that speak to the creation of space. Recently, Jamey Grimes’ “Walsh” exhibition transported the viewer into an otherworldly environment with a display of serene and transfixing synthetic materials manipulated into intertwining ripples that weaved across the otherwise blank ceiling. Upcoming in November is Gary L. Moore’s immersive installation “Dark Matter/Sweet Earth,” which is expected to explore the Black American in personal and public landscapes.

6. Gallery 2014
2014 Harrison St., Hollywood
Housing the creative works of up-and-coming local artists, students, and even global artists, Gallery 2014 is a carefully cultivated selection of all visual media that specializes in representations of the human form, portraiture, and depictions of people in their daily interaction with the world. One exhibition this past spring was “Self-Revealed: The Naked Photography Project,” in which Gallery 2014 founder Elizabeth Sanjuan photographed more than 130 women of all ages, races, and sizes to highlight the varying looks of beauty. Mercedes Bravo’s depiction of the personality, sensuality, and emotion of women and the masks they wear kicked off on Saturday, October 22. Even more intriguing is that the medium used for this collection was none other than red wine.