ICFF: New York may have some of the finest museums in the world but not all of the city’s best art is hidden behind a $20 entrance fee. Works by renowned artists and lesser-known locals line the walls and hang from the ceilings of galleries small and large, and visitors can often peruse them for no fee, often with a glass of wine in hand (if it’s a Thursday or sometimes Friday).

David Zwirner Gallery German ex-pat David Zwirner opened up his gallery in 1993, relocating from SoHo to Chelsea in 2002. The exhibitions hosted at his current large space are often wildly popular, as the long lines attest. 

Luhring Augustine, founded in Chelsea in 1985, is one of the city’s most reputable galleries, exhibiting and representing works by the likes of Gerhard Richter, Larry Clark, Pablo Picasso and David Musgrave.

Gagosian’s a major name in the global gallery scene, with locations in Los Angeles (where the first Gagosian gallery opened in 1979), London, Paris, Rome, Hong Kong, Athens and Geneva, in addition to the several famed spaces in New York.

Fisher Landau Center for Art: This LIC gallery, housed in an erstwhile parachute harness factory, of all places, contains hundreds of works belonging to 94-year-old collector Emily Fisher Landau. Landau’s got quite an eye for art, having amassed works by the likes of Robert Rauschenberg, Ellsworth Kelly and Andy Warhol over the past half-century. You can peruse the permanent works in addition to intermittent temporary exhibitions highlighting specific pieces from Landau’s collection.

Storefront for Art & Architecture: Last but not least on this list is the Storefront for Art & Architecture, a 32-year-old triangular slice located in that SoHo/Little Italy no-man’s land. Storefront’s an all-around art “institution,” a non-profit dedicated to supporting emerging and local art. But the gallery’s one of the city’s most treasured exhibition spots, displaying works by hundreds of artists, including Peter Cook, Yves Klein and David Molander.

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