The Best Art Galleries in Brooklyn and Queens

In the past few years, Brooklyn & Queens have become New York’s epicentre of art galleries & museums. Several warehouses have turned into hip galleries, studios, and nonprofits that support artistic innovation, and create a sense of community. Before the new wave of NFTs took hold of the art world, the influence of immigration and the diversity has led to a diverse mix of galleries and artists in the area. The galleries in our neighborhood are a great amalgamation of Chelsea’s mega-gallery scene and the funky vibe of the Lower East Side.

Here’s a curated list of art galleries in Brooklyn and Queens that are avant-garde & risk-taking, that feature both emerging as well as prominent artists. Check out our guide below.

Pierogi

Located moments away from your luxurious room at The William Vale, Pierogi is one of the first art spaces in Williamsburg.  From the conceptual drawings to multi-media works, dynamic large-scale paintings to the panoramic and filmic drawings, this gallery showcases work from emerging artists with eclectic energy. The gallery curates award-winning exhibitions such as the Dead Tree installation. Pierogi also has a satellite exhibition space called The Boiler, which is an expansive space where large-scale installations, sculptures, and paintings are exhibited. Pierogi has another important element known as The Flat Files that houses portfolios of original works by 750+ artists that have been exhibited all around the world.  

McCaig Welles 

McCaig-Welles Gallery, located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn focuses on cutting-edge artists that have emerged from the urban aesthetics. The gallery showcases impactful and innovative artists that effectively place a mirror in front of the viewer by creating works that touch on current events, present day trends and insightful introspection. 

A.I.R. Gallery

Run by artists, A.I.R. Gallery is a non-profit arts & exhibition space in DUMBO, Brooklyn that provides support and visibility to women and non-binary artists, and advocates risk taking & open exchange of ideas. A.I.R Gallery is a non-conventional space with a network of active participants, and hosts events, lectures & symposia that are focused on women, feminism & art.

Minus Space

Minus Space is a unique, one-of-a-kind art gallery in DUMBO that is internationally recognized and specialises in reductive abstract art. The use of limited monochromatic colour, plainspoken materials, geometry, patterns, precise craftsmanship, seriality, repetition, and intellectual rigour are few characteristics of Reductive Art. The nature of the artform and artists is inclusive and diverse that includes age, gender, location, type of work, medium as well as the artistic strategy.  

Norte Maar

Bushwick galleries focus on artistic innovation and one such gallery is the Norte Maar. Norte Maar is dedicated to performing arts and formation of new dance that provides a safe space for experimentation and taking enormous risks. A Norte Maar performance brings together dance, music, literature, film, science, sculpture, design, and more. Norte Maar has created nine significant collaborated ballets since its inception in 2004 and Counterpointe is its longest-running performance project that particularly focuses on partnerships between female dancers and visual artists.

Noguchi

This Queens-based Museum houses the world's biggest and most comprehensive collection of Isamu Noguchi's sculptures, sketches, models, and designs as the artist's estate. A great attraction of the museum is its garden and many half open spaces, so it's well suited to presenting the stone and metal sculptures he made; the ivy-clad walls and garden are dotted with Noguchi sculptures, and it's as if we're transported zen-like to Japan. As well as the stone and metal works, there are also lighter, paper sculptures and lanterns to admire and even buy.

Sculpture Centre

Sculpture Centre located in Queens, is a leader in the contemporary art conversation, fostering artistic creativity and independent thought while emphasising sculpture's unique ability to transform how people interact with the world. Sculpture Center discerns and interprets emerging ideas by placing artists' work in larger cultural, historical, and aesthetic contexts. Sculpture Center, founded by artists in 1928, is an international forum that brings artists and audiences together through exhibitions, commissioning new work, and generating scholarship.