Cleveland Art Guide

Just as a rose can sometimes grow in concrete, art thrives in the most unlikely places. Consider Cleveland, an aging rustbelt city where a vibrant art scene perseveres amid cloudy skies, weary smokestacks and rows of abandoned houses.

The unlikely pairing of beautiful art and urban decay is the product of both the city’s history and economy. The 19th-century industrial barons who dotted famed Euclid Avenue with their palatial estates also bequeathed a lasting legacy of culture, most notably the Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Museum of Art and PlayhouseSquare.

These days, the city’s low cost of living makes it easy for working artists to make Cleveland home, and their creative energies are evident in the large number of studios and galleries devoted to local art.

Any art lover’s tour of Cleveland should begin in University Circle, the hub of Cleveland’s art scene. That neighborhood’s most famous tenant, the Cleveland Museum of Art, is presently in the midst of a multiyear, $260-million makeover that will provide new wings, galleries and a glass-covered courtyard. Several galleries have already reopened, including the original 1916 building, providing a sparkling backdrop for the museum’s matchless permanent collection.

Across from the museum is the Cleveland Institute of Art, one of the country’s top professional art and design schools. CIA is home to the Reinberger Galleries, an airy exhibition space that showcases the work of the school’s talented students and faculty alongside high-quality touring exhibitions. Nearby is the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the very model of a major modern gallery. MOCA hosts thrilling exhibits like "Superlight," an international multimedia show that explores the intersection of art and digital culture. 

Cleveland’s strength is in its neighborhoods, and many have become bona fide art hubs. One is Little Italy, a historic district characterized by brick streets, authentic Italian restaurants, and nearly two dozen art galleries. One of the most eye-catching is the Pennello Gallery, with its lovingly curated collection of ceramics, paintings, sculpture and jewelry from some of the finest international artists. Eclectic Scaravilli Design presents owner Anthony Scaravilli’s photo-art views of Cleveland’s past and present, as well as jewelry, paintings and antique musical instruments. Lovely Galeria Quetzal offers a charming selection of Hispanic folk and fine art items; it’s hard to resist curiosities like a Mexican Day of the Dead shadow box featuring a pair of skeletal lovers. Mitzi Verne’s internationally renowned Verne Collection showcases exquisite Japanese prints and paintings, which the owner began collecting in the 1950s. Inside the Murray Hill School House, a renovated school building, Juma Gallery presents tasteful paintings, ceramics and jewelry. Check out the minimalist cardboard sculpture installations down the hall at Artemis Herber’s Artbox Studio-Gallery.

Home to waves of immigrants, the near-west neighborhood of Tremont became a magnet in the ’70s and ’80s for artists seeking cheap live-work spaces. The area has blossomed into a stroller’s paradise, with historic churches, rehabbed Victorians, splashy new condos, trendy restaurants and numerous art galleries. On the second Friday of each month, the well-attended ArtWalk fills the sidewalks with roving art fans. Brandt Gallery, Tremont’s oldest, is a spare storefront space that hosts poetry readings and art exhibits, including Pamela Dodd’s evocative figural drawings. Behind an unmarked painted-blue façade hides artist Dana L. Depew’s Asterisk Gallery, a fantastic space devoted to edgy emerging artists. Recent exhibits have included the self-deprecating “All Things Cleveland,” a visual roast of the city in all its polka-and-pierogi glory. Soft contemporary jazz lures you into the peaceful Paul Duda Gallery, a sleek space where you can admire breathtaking photographs and prints by Duda that cast Lady Cleveland in a flattering light. 

Downtown’s theater district is home to the venerable Bonfoey Gallery. Established in 1893, the gallery is known for highlighting the works of talented local artists. Of particular note are the florals by Gary Bukovnik, primal abstracts by Tricia Lazuka, and springtime scenes by Paula Rubinstein. Just across the Cuyahoga River you’ll find SPACES, a modern-art landmark that hosts exciting shows featuring the ingenuity of Ohio artists.

In the eastern suburbs, Steven Hartman’s elegant Contessa Gallery, surprisingly located in the Legacy Village shopping center, hosts some of the most prestigious exhibits in town. A recent show included Andy Warhol paintings, Alfred Eisenstadt photographs and Salvador Dalí etchings. The cozy Malcolm Brown Gallery, the nation’s oldest African-American-owned fine art gallery, exhibits paintings by noteworthy African-American artists including Moe Brooker, Elizabeth Catlett, William Carter and gallery owner Brown.