This has been a challenging year for small galleries. Contending with much of the existing economic conditions that have lingered since 2023, this has been a year in which galleries have been faced with numerous hurdles, from rising rents to stubbornly high borrowing costs.

But despite these macro-challenges (which do show signs of changing), several galleries have made key strides in 2024. From newly launched names that have made an immediate impact in their local art scenes to more longstanding names that took their programming to new heights, we spotlight 10 galleries that have a breakout year in 2024.

Based in: Los Angeles

Known for: A dynamic, women-led artist roster

2024 highlights: Hitting the ground running in Los Angeles

Gallerist Megan Mulrooney made a bold move in the Los Angeles art scene in September 2024, taking over the well-known Nino Mier Gallery space on Santa Monica Boulevard. Having worked for Mier from 2018 until earlier this year as a director, Mulrooney’s debut as a solo gallerist was both a homecoming and a statement.

It’s been a quick start for the eponymous gallery, which has rapidly made waves in its local community. The gallery launched with two buzzy solo exhibitions from New York–based artist Marin Majic and the 22-year-old painter Piper Bangs. All the while, Los Angeles–based artist Jon Pylypchuk has been enlisted as a curatorial advisor, poised to organize a series of group exhibitions throughout 2025, which started with “Saints and Poets” alongside the inaugural solo shows. The gallery also rounded out the year with a debut fair appearance at NADA Miami in December.

“As the year winds down, we’re reflecting on the incredible community of artists who have trusted us with their work and enriched our journey as a new gallery,” said Mulrooney. “We’re eager to deepen our connections with artists, writers, collectors, and curators in the year ahead—the future feels bright with the cohort of artists we’ll be working with next year.”

Based in: Los Angeles and Kyoto

Known for: Championing artists from Japan and its diaspora

2024 highlights: Opening a second location in Kyoto

In 2018, Rodney and Takayoshi Nonaka-Hill founded Nonaka-Hill in Los Angeles with a mission to spotlight emerging and established artists from Japan and its diaspora. Over the past six years, the gallery introduced several Japanese artists to the West Coast for the first time, including Shuzo Azuchi Gulliver and Takuro Tamayama.

This year, that mission was taken to new heights. On October 30th, Nonaka-Hill expanded its reach by inaugurating a second space in Kyoto. This new location enhances the gallery’s ability to collaborate with galleries in Tokyo and Japan while deepening ties between its Los Angeles base and its commitment to Japanese art.

The gallery also mounted several notable presentations at art fairs worldwide, including a buzzy debut at Art Basel Hong Kong, where it presented a dual presentation of Tadaaki Kuwayama and Kiyomizu Rokubey VIII. Most recently, the gallery participated in Art Collaboration Kyoto, with a group presentation featuring work from emerging Japanese painter Kyoko Idetsu. The showcase coincided with the opening of its new location, inaugurated with a solo show by Ulala Imai.

Among the most talked-about new galleries in London this year, Brunette Coleman has quickly established itself in the city’s art scene after opening in 2023. The gallery quickly made a splash with its off-site exhibition at the Fitzrovia Chapel titled “Phantom Edit,” featuring video works by Garrett Pruter and Jacky Connolly. By the summertime, it had settled into a permanent location in Bloomsbury, where it has since hosted a series of much buzzed-about exhibitions, including Cypriot artist Marietta Mavrokordatou’s current show, “Girl.”

“Since opening in June 2023, we’ve focused on first-time presentations in London—often introducing the first U.K. exhibition for an artist’s career,” Ted Targett and Anna Eaves, directors of Brunette Coleman, told Artsy. “We’ve also enjoyed working with artists to push the limits of the gallery’s architecture, encouraging ambitious uses of the room.”

Perhaps the high point of Brunette Coleman’s year came at Frieze London, where the gallery presented works by London-based artist Nat Faulkner. There, Faulkner won the 2024 Camden Arts Centre Emerging Artist Prize and secured a solo exhibition at Camden Arts Centre in 2025. The gallery also made a notable debut at Liste in Basel this June, presenting work by Oscar Enberg.

Based in: Paris and Dubai

Known for: Uplifting women artists in the heart of Dubai’s growing art scene

2024 highlights: Inaugurated its second space outside of Paris

Founded by former lawyer and avid art collector Veronika Berezina in 2022, NIKA Project Space’s roster comprises six artists from Russia, Palestine, Honduras, and Kazakhstan. The gallery’s program aims to champion the work of women artists and provide a platform for women curators. Along with a program that focuses on themes of conceptualization, abstraction, and philosophical inquiry, the gallery runs a schedule of talks and educational initiatives, including a research program.

First opened in Dubai’s buzzy arts center Al Khayat Avenue, the gallery expanded to the vibrant Komunuma art district in Romainville, on the outskirts of Paris, in September. The new space debuted with a solo exhibition by Palestinian artist Mirna Bamieh. The show, “Sour Things,” featured a selection of sculptures, ranging from wall works to string-like hanging sculptures that descended from the ceiling.

Founded in 2023 by a trio of seasoned Brazilian gallerists—Lucio Albuquerque, Antônio Almeida, and Carlos Dale—Cerrado Galeria set out to broaden the scope of Brazil’s growing art scene. With a special focus on ecology, historical processes, and social issues, the gallery this year gained significant momentum as a platform for both contemporary and modern Brazilian artists.

Cerrado Galeria operates from two locations: a modernist house in Goiânia, central Brazil, and a newly opened 1,600-square-meter space in Brasília. The gallery made a strong impression with two inaugural exhibitions in August. The first was a solo show featuring the works of Brazilian heavyweight Rubem Valentim. The second was a group show featuring 50 works that celebrated Black and Indigenous cultures, particularly highlighting those from midwest Brazil.

One of the gallery’s artists, Dalton Paula, was featured in the 60th Venice Biennale main show “Foreigners Everywhere,” which presented 16 figurative paintings by the artist. The gallery also established itself quickly as a name to watch on the domestic art fair circuit with standout presentations at SP Arte and Art Rio.

Based in: Brooklyn, New York

Known for: Innovative visual art exhibitions and a dynamic performance art program

2024 highlights: Brick-and-mortar expansion and The Armory Show debut

Just before its fifth anniversary in February, Carvalho Park expanded into its neighboring building in Brooklyn, doubling the scope of its programming for 2024. The expansion has already enabled the gallery to host a series of bold, experimental solo shows featuring artists such as Jaiyoung Cho, Rosalind Tallmadge, and Guillaume Linard Osorio.Concurrently, the gallery also launched a biannual performance series, featuring renowned dancers Sara Mearns and Jodi Melnick in a commissioned, site-specific installation by Diana Orving. “The new space allows our artists to realize more dimensional and ambitious installations and bodies of work,” said founder Jennifer Carvalho. “I feel the clarity of the gallery’s vision ushered in this expansion and was an exciting marker in our trajectory.”

Carvalho Park also made its Armory Show debut this year with works by Rachel Mica Weiss—selected as one of Artsy’s top 10 best booths. Beyond New York, the gallery made a notable impact internationally, with a group showcase at London’s Frieze No. 9 Cork Street in May.

Founded in 2020, Amsterdam-based Mia Karlova Galerie made several standout appearances at some of the world’s most preeminent design fairs this year. In October, the gallery presented at PAD Paris 2024 with an environmentally motivated display featuring seven artists, including Sho Ota, Vadim Kibardin, and Andriy Voznick. Just one month later, the gallery mounted a show at Salon Art + Design New York, showing a selection of its roster, including Jordi Sarrate and Olga Engel.

A growing tastemaker in the fast-growing intersection between art and design, the gallery’s program aims to champion functional art pieces. “We surround ourselves with objects that bring us the pleasure of contemplation,” founder Mia Karlova wrote on her gallery’s website. Within just four years, it has generated attention by working intimately with each artist to coproduce design objects from their initial sketches to their final iterations.

Based in: London

Known for: A buzzy artist roster and increasing international presence

2024 highlights: A series of headline-grabbing shows and milestones for its artists

London’s Saatchi Yates has been turning heads since Phoebe Saatchi Yates and Arthur Yates founded the gallery in Mayfair in 2020. Known for a compelling mix of contemporary offerings, the gallery upped the ante last year when it moved into its 12,000-square-foot space in St. James’s—quickly becoming an epicenter for some of the capital’s most buzzworthy openings.

Among these was the headline-grabbing exhibition by Slawn—the most in-demand artist on Artsy in 2024—titled “1,000 Canvases.” A massive crowd descended into the gallery for the opening, spilling into the streets. The artist himself stepped out to paint a parked car outside the gallery.

The artist hosted a comparably buzzy opening in Miami during Art Basel Miami Beach, where he also has work featured in the storied Rubell Museum. Meanwhile, Tesfaye Urgessa further boosted the gallery’s international profile by representing Ethiopia at the 2024 Venice Biennale, coinciding with a solo exhibition at the London gallery.

Adding to its already busy programming, Saatchi Yates kicked off the year with its representation of British artist Neil Stokoe, coinciding with a posthumous solo exhibition of work made between the 1960s and ’90s.

A fast-growing force in Seoul’s fast-moving gallery scene, N/A Gallery has quickly made a name for its eclectic, multidisciplinary programming since it was founded in 2018. The gallery showcases a mix of experimental sculptures by artists such as Leesop Cho and bright, abstract paintings by Choon Mi Kim.

In 2024, N/A Gallery started making inroads outside of Korea. In September, London tastemaker Ginny on Frederick presented the group exhibition “Vampire Problem?” at its Seoul gallery. In October, it hosted an exhibition of works by Muyeong Kim at Frieze No. 9 Cork Street in London.

Later that month, it also participated in Paris Internationale with a two-person presentation featuring Jiyoon Chung and Muyeong Kim. The year was capped off with an appearance at Art Collaboration Kyoto later that month, featuring work by Chung, Hardy Hill, and Jeman Seo.

Based in: Marrakech and Casablanca, Morocco

Known for: In-depth programming on modern and contemporary Moroccan artists

2024 highlights: Standout presentations in Miami and Paris