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.

5. Masters Fine Art
4350 Oakes Rd. #515, Fort Lauderdale
Bold, rich, and curious pretty much describes the soulful works on display at Masters Fine Arts. Dedicated to art that represents the human essence, the gallery works with artists from around the world but specifically with Latin Americans for its focus on a happy view of life complete with bright colors, music, dance, love, hope, and happiness. Color will immediately hit you in the face upon entering Masters Fine Art, displayed in a range of styles, from Andrea Palacios’ delicate and emotional “Original Faces” collection to Ferjo’s dynamic pieces that delight in a fun mix of cubism, abstract expressionism, realism, and surrealism.  There’s no denying that the art here is one of a kind with a deep variety to suit many tastes.
4. Las Olas Fine Arts Gallery
701 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Las Olas Fine Arts has served as a contemporary art venue in Fort Lauderdale for more than 22 years, bringing the work of international artists to a local level. There’s always much to discover in this Las Olas jewel, whether it’s Dominic Besner’s rich canvases that speak to a deeper view of life by depicting a world in itself or Vincent Cordo’s definition of the modern woman through mixed mediums which take viewers into a universe of sophistication and voluptuousness. Among these gems are striking sculptures designed with global and abstract influences. If there’s one thing that really stands out about this gallery, it’s that it’s often home to unique pieces you’ll have a hard time finding elsewhere.

3. New River Fine Art
914 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
With a collection of masterworks from the impressionist, 20th-century, and postwar eras; paintings by contemporary and emerging artists; and a selection of sculptures, New River Fine Art manages to keep one foot in the historical world and one foot in the world of the fresh and the new. An extensive mix of works like this certainly warrants a look. And how can you not want to visit when the works of Auguste Renoir, Rembrandt Van Rijn, and Andy Warhol — the latter of which are currently on display for a limited time — have all graced the walls of this gallery? Previous exhibitions include the work of Miami’s Purvis Young, who had an expressionist vision of urban culture and inner city life, and “MUSE,” a showcase of the energetic works of neo-expressionist painter Vladimir Prodanovich, who was skilled in modernizing the traditional elements and art themes into a more contemporary twist.

2. Artblend
2736 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Step inside Artblend, a full-service gallery, and you’ll immediately get a sensory overload — in a good way. The vast space — 6,200 square feet of it, in fact — boasts a large, diverse selection of mixed-media art, sculpture, paintings (including digital paintings), and photography. There’s always something inspiring and unexpected to be discovered within its walls, whether it’s Max Werner’s thought-provoking acrylic and pencil on canvas Con-Art or Simon Abuhab’s multiperspective oil on canvas Transe. Artblend also hosts engaging art exhibitions and shows, complete with complimentary wine and cheese in true art gallery fashion. The gallery will be hosting its Fall Exhibition 2016 on November 13 from 2 to 5 p.m., where you’ll get to scope out the works of its current talent. And while you’re there, snag a copy of the latest Artblend magazine to take a bit of inspiration home with you.

1. MAC Fine Art
833 NE Fourth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
With 12,000 square feet of exhibition space, an impressive roster of A-list artists, and an upcoming birthday celebrating 19 years in the business, MAC Fine Art has time and time again proved itself to be a high-caliber art gallery. Spearheaded by Mary Ann Cohen, who has more than 35 years of international visual fine-art experience, MAC Fine Art carries everything from the traditional to the contemporary and has showcased James Leonard, Jason Myers, Brenda Heim, and more. Among its newest pieces are Jacqueline Holland-Berkley’s acrylic on canvas Summer Crowd and Walter Redondo’s Walks With You.