You’ve strolled through the Chelsea galleries, fought your way through a crowded opening on the Lower East Side, and acted out your very own version of Gallery Girls in the back of one of L.A.’s famous art spaces. Cool. But do you know the best gallery in Dubai? Can you argue that Mexico City is the new New York? Do you believe the galleries in Paris are as good as the museums?
With art fairs booming all over the globe, we know more about international contemporary art than ever before. Young artists and the galleries who love them are still taking notes from earlier generations of Conceptualists and Minimalists, but engaging with new media, style, and dialogue coming out of burgeoning scenes in places like Istanbul, Oslo, and São Paulo.
Today, “art world†actually refers to nearly the whole world, and as part of this global awareness we see famous names of the 20th-century sharing wall space with brand new talent. Galleries that specialize in street art are commanding as much attention as blue-chip spaces, and “the next big thing†could literally turn up anywhere.
So where can you go to see the newest of the new, and the best of the best? Check out Complex’s list of the best galleries in the world.