The Best Art Galleries in Fitzrovia

Since 2004, Alison Jacques has been committed to raising the profiles of artists previously unknown in the UK, regardless of emerging or well-established status overseas. This includes the incredible careers of Lygia Clark, Hannah Wilke and Ana Mendieta, all of whom are now considered hugely influential in the shaping of feminist art history. Jacques was also the first dealer to work with the estate of controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, and the gallery remains his sole UK representative to this day.

This relatively young gallery focuses on emerging and established contemporary artists whose practice is related to Africa and the subsequent diaspora. More immediate interpretations include Theo Eshetu’s video works contemplating the history and legacy of slave ships, while more unusual themes include last year’s exhibition The Pineapple Show which presented artists from Kenya, Nigeria and the United States who have shared a common interest in the tropical fruit.

TJ Boulting takes its name from the beautiful Arts and Crafts building that it occupies on the corner of Riding House Street, complete with intricate mosaic lettering. The gallery was founded as an exhibiting platform to compliment the publishing company Trolley, which produces books on contemporary art, architecture and design. The programme is often indicative of a collaborative effort between publishing and curating, and represents artists including photographer Juno Calypso and painter Boo Saville.

With an emphasis on innovative technologies, Carroll Fletcher presents artists who are defying convention and pushing the boundaries of multimedia, such as the computer art pioneer Manfred Moh and and political ‘internet artist’ Constant Dullaart. Unsurprisingly given the gallery’s mission statement, it also has its own online screening platform, showing a curated programme of artists’ and experimental film every week.

With a specialism in post-war conceptual and feminist practices, Richard Saltoun presents a sizeable amount of work from the ground-breaking era of 1970s performance works. It represents the often-challenging works of Jo Spence and Helen Chadwick and has also exhibited other pioneers from the movement, including Carolee Schneemann and Alexis Hunter. It also collaborates with Riding House publishing to present monographs on selected artists, alongside its exhibition programme.

This Rem Koolhaas-designed building was launched by dealer Pilar Corrias in 2008, following her tenure as director at Lisson Gallery. She made waves in the art world by showing experimental young artists such as Keith Tyson and introduced fashion designer Miuccia Prada to the work of acclaimed sculptor Anish Kapoor.

Bartha Contemporary was founded by Swiss-German couple Niklas and Daniela von Bartha in January 2000 and moved to its Fitzrovia space in 2012. The gallery emphasises conceptual and non-figurative practices, with particular focus on European artists including Hartmut Böhm, Giulia Ricci and Mike Meiré.

Pi Artworks is dedicated to raising the profile of Turkish artists throughout the international art world and was the first Turkish gallery to set up a branch in London after founding its Istanbul headquarters in 1998. It has since grown to represent artists of different nationalities including German-Egyptian artist Susan Hefuna, who is fascinated by urban spaces and their hidden networks, and German sculptor Abraham David Christian, who was of the youngest artists ever to be selected to participate in the international art event Documenta, in 1972.

The Gallery for Russian and Eastern European Arts and Design (or GRAD for short) seeks to educate audiences on the incredibly rich culture of Russia and neighbouring eastern European countries, covering both historical movements and engaging with current socio-political tensions. The gallery was even awarded ‘immunity from seizure’ status, meaning that artists can exhibit freely without fear that their work might be confiscated. The gallery also runs a series of research and education initiatives, including GRAD Lab, GRAD Academy and GRAD Sputnik, all of which contribute to a wider dialogue around arts and culture.

As part of the headquarters for the Royal Institute of British Architects, this gallery presents exhibitions around all things architecture. The shows often focus around materials from the sizeable archive including drawings, photographs and models from the likes of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Sir John Soane, Sir Christopher Wren and Andrea Palladio.