Robert Klein Gallery
Since 1980, owner Robert Klein has been quietly amassing fine-art photography and selling to major collectors. He carries work by the likes of Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, and Edward Weston, as well as contemporary pieces, all skillfully curated by a true connoisseur. 38 Newbury St. #402, Boston, MA 2116, robertkleingallery.com.
Barbara Krakow Gallery
Buckminster Fuller architectural prints. Richard Serra silkscreens. Works by Jenny Holzer, Bruce Nauman, Tara Donovan, and Ellsworth Kelly. Over the past 12 months, all have graced Barbara Krakow's stark white walls. That caliber of contemporary and modern art would be the envy of many museums, but this little gallery manages to pull it in and keep it coming. Bonus: With its annual exhibition that raises tens of thousands for AIDS relief, the gallery is a good citizen as well. 10 Newbury St. #5, Boston, MA 2116, barbarakrakowgallery.com.
Clark Gallery
Could easily be in New York City given the sophistication and consistency of the shows. Lincoln Station, Lincoln, MA .
Nielsen Gallery
Nina Nielsen's vision is unique, and she has stuck with it. 179 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Stux Gallery
Fine space, stable avant-garde artists. 36 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Gallery Naga
Arthur Dion's eclectic, electric Gallery Naga has become an art lover's Newbury Street staple. Set in a neo-Gothic stone church, the gallery showcases contemporary prints, paintings, photographs, and furniture by a mix of heavy-hitting New England talent, including artist Masako Kamiya, craftsman John Eric Byers, former MassArt professor George Nick, and painter Todd McKie. 67 Newbury St., Boston, MA gallerynaga.com.
Nina Nielsen
Nielsen brings Boston the most painterly painters, including New York abstractionist John Walker. 179 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
This year's clustering of new and relocated galleries in the first block of Newbury Street, where they might actually attract some browsers able to buy. See especially the Bernard Toale Gallery, an out-growth of the couldn't-be-less-Newbury-Streetish Brickbottom Gallery in Somerville.
<em>Look to Your Elders,</em> by Victor "MARKA27" Quinonez
Street art in Boston got a thrilling new addition this past May with Quiñonez’s Look to Your Elders, a vibrant painting on the side of Grove Hall pot shop Pure Oasis depicting a woman and young man surrounded by Caribbean plants and Indigenous patterns. A heartfelt nod to Boston’s generations of Caribbean and Afro-Latino residents, the piece is more than just a mural: It’s a stop-you-in-your-tracks work of art that has turned the spot into a must-visit. 430 Blue Hill Ave., Dorchester, MA 02121, marka27.com.
Krakow Witkin Gallery
A stalwart in Boston since 1959, the gallery managed to not just survive but thrive this past year thanks to live and online shows that brought legends and locals together. See: works from modern-art icon Josef Albers, contemporary star Jenny Holzer, and Mike Glier, whose paintings are inspired by birdsong in the Public Garden. The gallery even hosted its annual AIDS Benefit Auction around the holidays virtually, with all proceeds going to the Dimock Center’s pediatric and family programs 10 Newbury St., Back Bay, MA 02116, krakowwitkingallery.com.
Carroll and Sons
Every time we walk into this avant-garde Harrison Avenue gallery, we fall in love with yet another up-and-coming video artist, painter, or sculptor. 450 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02118, carrollandsons.net.
Gallery Naga
There's always something that catches our eye at this contemporary gallery inside the Back Bay's Church of the Covenant. Now celebrating its 40th year, Naga prefers to showcase work by locals, such as Peter Vanderwarker's stunning landscape photography and Gerry Bergstein's mixed-media agglomerations on panels. The other thing the artists all have in common? They hit the sweet spot of challenging the mind while creating images that you can immerse yourself in for years. 67 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116, gallerynaga.com.
<p>"Everyone who walks in here goes, 'Wow!'" says general manager Kate Fergusson. And—self-interest notwithstanding—she's not overstating the case. Just one month shy of a year old, the Artful Hand, in Copley Place, has been quietly wowing people ever since it opened last September.</p> <p>The magic begins at the entrance: large windows reveal a peaceful, almost ethereal environment filled with softly lighted gallerylike displays of top-quality contemporary American crafts. The store does not carry folksy handmade items such as rag rugs, stenciled stools, and macramé plant hangers. What it does carry—delicate hand-painted silk scarves, hand-blown glass sculptures dancing with color, jewelry, whimsical ceramic dishware, and baskets—shimmers with sophistication.</p> <p>Merchandise such as this would seem to fetch astronomical prices. But not all of it does. In fact, buyers Joe Porcari and Terry Weschler make a point of stocking items that appeal to all budgets.</p> <p>"Other countries tend to be more aware and supportive of their crafts people than we are here," says Fergusson. "In the United States, more people are just now beginning to realize that much of American craftwork is really important."</p> <p>And the Artful Hand is a worthy vehicle for that message.</p>
Stux Galleries
The Bilzerian of the art community. We especially like the commitment to local artists even when they don't sell. 36 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Clark Gallery
Particularly effective in getting people to notice and buy local work. Lincoln Station, Lincoln, MA .