10 Must-Visit Contemporary Art Galleries In St. Louis, Missouri
Contemporary art has found a haven in St. Louis, Missouri, the “Gateway City” and one of the Midwest region’s premier art destinations. Home to two internationally renowned institutions – the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts – alongside a number of smaller, independent galleries in the trendy Cherokee Street and Central West End neighborhoods, St. Louis is the perfect city in which to immerse yourself in contemporary art culture.
1. Art Saint Louis
Art Saint Louis
Now in its 30th year of operation, Art Saint Louis is a long-standing fixture on the city’s art scene and resides in a gallery-cum-café space in the heart of downtown Louis. Established with the mission of celebrating and showcasing the city region’s best contemporary visual artists, the gallery specializes in presenting creatively-themed group exhibitions featuring talented artists from St. Louis and the surrounding areas, which has included Missouri-born and bred photographer CB Adams, whose captivating pictures capture Missouri’s landscapes, and Wentzville-based paint Thomas Matthew Pierson, whose art is a self-described contemplation in body dysmorphia, nutrition and candy. Art Saint Louis also regularly collaborates with local businesses to present pop-up galleries and hosts the annual Honor Awards, a juried exhibition which acknowledges the best local artists.
Art St Louis, 1223 Pine Street, St Louis, MO, USA, +1 314 241 4810
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, or CAM for short, was founded in 1980 and moved to its current premises in St. Louis’ vibrant Midtown in 2003, since which it has presented over 120 exhibitions featuring more than 260 artists. Each year CAM presents six main gallery exhibitions featuring national and international artists from a variety of cultural backgrounds and working across various mediums, and a number of regularly changing exhibitions in its Front Room gallery which focuses on experimental art by emerging artists. Always looking to introduce the next big names to the USA’s wider contemporary art scene, CAM has given several talented artists their first major American museum exhibition including Zambian mixed media artist Carey Young, whose art examines the intrusion of the commercial realm into private lives, and Israeli-American artist Elad Lassry, who incorporates vintage images and film archives into his work.
2. The Millstone Gallery at COCA
Art Gallery, Building
3. Bruno David Gallery
Building
4. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
Museum
6. Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts
Art Gallery
7. White Flag Projects
Art Gallery
8. PHD Gallery
PHD Gallery
Another Cherokee Street trailblazer, PHD Gallery occupies a storefront property that is both green in color and sustainable design conceived by St. Louis native Philip Hitchcock, an artist and curator who has helped gain PHD Gallery national media attention with the gallery receiving praise from publications including the New York Times. Founded in 2007, PHD Gallery has established a strong reputation for producing alternative art shows that focus on the very best in regional, national and international contemporary art. The sophisticated and minimalist space has exhibited a range of solo shows and imaginatively themed group exhibitions that has featured works of art by gifted artists including Michigan artist Aunia Kahn and her film noir inspired paintings, photography and collages and Texan sculptural and jewellery artist Jillian Palone.
PHD Gallery, 2300 Cherokee Street, St Louis, MO, USA, +1 314 664 6644
9. Philip Slein Gallery
Philip Slein Gallery
The Philip Slein Gallery is a chic, urban art space located in St Louis’ bustling, bohemian Central West End neighborhood. The gallery was established in 2003 by co-owners Philip Slein and Tom Bussman who came together over their shared passion for contemporary painting and commitment to showcase the very best in contemporary art regardless of style or discipline. Recently, the gallery was named as one of The Huffington Post’s 40 “galleries you should know if you love paint,” and has exhibited works by a number of high profile artists based in the Midwest alongside well-known national artists. Recent exhibitions include St. Louis painter Jamie Adams’ subversive series of paintings of the Hollywood icons Jean Seberg and Marilyn Monroe, and works by the New York-based abstract painter Gary Stephan.
Philip Slein Gallery, 4735 McPherson Avenue, St Louis, MO, USA, +1 314 361 2617
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