Barcelona's best art galleries

Silvia Dauder's penchant for new photography and film is sculpted into subtle, provocative and highly original shows. Limited-edition artists' texts, detailed explanations in English and Silvia's own bilingual talents complement the exhibitions. You'll enter intrigued, but emerge informed. Look out for Patricia Dauder, Pieter Vermeersch and Asier Mendizábal.

The Marlborough family of galleries was founded in London in 1946 and won prestige in the 1950s for being the first gallery to show the German Expressionists in London. By 1958 Marlborough was representing such artists as Oskar Kokoschka, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Victor Pasmore and Lucian Freud.In 1962 the New York gallery was opened, followed by Tokyo and Madrid. They also have spaces in Chile, Florida, Monaco, Chelsea and, of course, Barcelona, which was inaugurated in 2006.

This historical gallery of Barcelona was founded in 1991 and recently moved to Trafalgar Street in 2015. The space is headed by Carlos Duran and Chus Roig and stands out for its eclecticism. The gallery supports young artists, but also known names from the national and international levels. It flees from unidirectional thinking and speaks all kinds of artistic languages.

Specializing in postwar art, big names like Miró, Picasso, Dalí, the members of Dau al Set and artists who had a special link with Catalonia, such as Calder, Magritte, Chagall, Chillida, Saura or Millares can all be found here. Each piece has a purpose and is a result of an intense process of research and documentation.

ADN started out with the aim of creating a hybrid platform between commercial mediation and cultural contribution to disseminate current artistic trends. The gallery focuses on projects that reflect contextual dynamics, and artists working in the socio-political realm, such as Eugenio Merino, Núria Güell, the collective known as Democracia, and Carlos Aires, among others.

Ever since its inception in 1976, Joan Prats has been part of art fairs Arco, Art Basel and Art Basel-Miami Beach. The gallery is committed to different artistic diciplines and names of the contemporary scene such as Ràfols Casamada, Luis Gordillo, Juliao Sarmento, Perejaume, Carles Congost or Teresa Solar Abboud, among others. The gallery was one of the city's pioneers in contemporary art and continues to promote the various forms these artists use to express themselves.

This contemporary art gallery is run by Rocio Santa Cruz, who previously headed up projects such as Raiña Lupa o + R, and now approaches the gallery as a space to produce. The gallery also supports and exhibits works by local artists in the area, including veterans such as Ferran Garcia Sevilla and younger artists such as Mar Arza and Blanca Casas.

Sala Parés is the oldest running art gallery in Barcelona, and it was also the first to open in all of Spain. In 1991, contemporary art gallery Galeria Trama opened in the same street, sharing an address with the Sala Parés. More recently the entire space started operating only as Sala Parés, and features figurative and realistic paintings as well as other contemporary works that span disciplines, such as sculpture, photography, video art and other hybrid styles.

Bernat Daviu and Joana Rueda are the masterminds behind Bombon, an adventure in the form of a gallery that moves away from conventional galleries. They promote and represent artists, but also want to be a multipurpose space where many things can occur. The most import thing however is that new generations are encouraged with contemporary art.

Pictorial and photographic gallery that works with established and emerging artists.

The gallery of Paco Revés opened its doors in 2005; A veteran art lover who in the past had a foothold in the world of entertainment. In this gallery, art pieces are mixed with unconventional objects and furniture. They represent artists such as Antoni Llena, Joan Miró, Luis Marsans, Hernández Pijuan and Saul Steinberet, among others.

This gallery moved in 2015 from C/ Xucla in Barcelona to its current location in L'Hospitalet. It worked with fifteen artists, including Ester Partegàs, Leandro Erlich and Wilfredo Prieto, names with commitment or their own voice to challenge the viewer about the world around him.

What you'll mainly find in this Eixample gallery is contemporary art in its many facets (the gallery's 175 square metres makes it suitable for most formats). Special attention is dedicated to new artists as well as those with an already established career. Seven or eight individual exhibitions are programmed per year, and the 3 Punts also takes part in international fairs and collaborates with other national and international galleries.

This cavernous basement is one of the most intriguing art spaces in the city. It hosts outstanding contemporary exhibitions, particularly in photography and film, from the likes of Finnish artist Esko Männikkö and Scottish film buff Douglas Gordon.

Hurrah to local gallery owner and entrepreneur Emilio Álvarez for keeping the Barcelona contemporary art world alive – and its various factions talking to one another. This smart space shows photography and video pieces, and hosts the occasional performance. Nearby Room Service (C/Àngels; 16, 93 302 1016), is dedicated to furniture design, while Álvarez's restaurant Carmelitas shows lo-fi video art at mealtimes (C/Doctor Dou 1, 93 412 4684, www.carmelitasgallery.com).