“Opera Gallery” is something of a misnomer. It’s not affiliated with opera—rather, the nomenclature was chosen because it’s easy to pronounce and transpose across multiple linguistic families, something of a concern when you’re a renowned international art dealing operation. But Opera Gallery is not entirely a gallery, either. Yes, the displayed works are for sale—that’s what galleries do, after all—but browsing through the collections feels more like a trip to a museum that happens to be nestled inside the high-end River Oaks District shopping center. And that’s intentional. Since opening its Houston location to the public on March 20, the space has given local art buffs another outlet to view world-class works by big names and up-and-comers in the contemporary scene, all for free.

“I think people saw the invitation [to the opening] or the press release and thought, ‘Oh, there's a Picasso. Maybe it's a Picasso lithograph,'” says Kara Przybyl McIver, Opera Gallery’s deputy director. “But I think when people came in and saw the museum quality of these pieces and how intimately you can interact with them, I think everyone was blown away.... It was a pleasant surprise, and you could feel the energy.”

Along with Pablo Picasso, the inaugural Opera Gallery showcase features original works by Marc Chagall, Kehinde Wiley, Claude Monet, Keith Haring, Alexander Calder, Yayoi Kusama, Manolo Valdés, Fernando Botero, Joan Miró, and other major players in art history, both living and dead. The current exhibition runs through April 19, after which it will rotate in work from a global network of 14 other Opera Galleries. A solo exhibition for Valdés is slated for October, and staff plan to host about three to four curated exhibitions annually, with intervening periods drawing from their extensive collection of modernist, postwar English, French, and American artists, as well as new pieces by emerging and established contemporary voices.

No matter who hangs on the walls, the intention remains the same: “Even if you're not a serious collector, we want it to be a place where you can learn about and really interact with these works on an intimate scale,” Przybyl McIver says.

In this, Opera Gallery serves double duty as a hub for patrons with money to spend on adding world-class, museum-quality originals to their collections, as well as a welcoming spot for the public to receive a no-cost education in art history. The now-shuttered Aspen location frequently invited nearby schools to bring children on field trips; kids could hold framed Picassos, directly engaging with art in ways typically not offered at traditional museums. Opera Gallery’s Houston outpost hopes to offer similar experiences for local students. Staffers also recently began speaking with institutions in the Texas Medical Center about displaying artwork for patients and their families.

The gallery also aims to beautify the city with more public art. A sculpture by Valdés—Opera Gallery Group owner and chairman Gilles Dyan calls him “the most important contemporary Spanish artist alive”—already sits out front, and there are plans for three more installations around the River Oaks District.

The current show also features colorful geometric paintings by Jean Dubuffet; Houstonians may recognize him as the artist behind Discovery Green’s notable Monument au Fantôme sculpture, just across the street from the George R. Brown Convention Center. His inclusion bridges the gallery’s two major goals: promoting the arts to a general audience at no cost and helping Houston collectors find new favorites for their portfolios.

Dyan says he and his team chose the Space City for the gallery’s inaugural foray into Texas because local art collectors here were already buying pieces from the New York, Paris, and, formerly, Aspen locations and shipping them home. Opening an Opera Gallery here made it possible for established customers to shop without necessitating travel. “For 10 years, we wanted to open a gallery in Texas, and between Dallas, Austin, and Houston, we chose Houston because we love the location where we are right now,” Dyan says. “And we think that the concept we have fits very well in this type of environment.”

Przybyl McIver, who has been a part of the local arts scene for a decade, comes from the acquisitions side—auction houses, private collectors, museums—and serves on the public arts committee at Houston Arts Alliance. She notes that the city has always boasted a “vibrant collector base.” The enthusiasm can’t be attributed entirely to the prolific Dominique and John de Menil. However, though she certainly sees their legacy and influence in the way Houstonians interact with and purchase art. “Our arts scene is thriving, but more importantly, the collectors here are intriguing. They're interesting,” Przybyl McIver says. “They're building collections with their legacy in mind, but then they're also really interested in supporting artists long term.”

That community of collectors from Houston and around the globe continues to make it possible for locals to visit an Opera Gallery anywhere in the world. Dyan founded the first two locations, in Singapore and Paris, in 1994 to promote contemporary and modern art by a variety of creators, from promising newcomers to the long-departed legends.

While the first-ever Houston exhibition focuses on paintings, drawings, and sculpture, Opera Gallery’s collection also includes video, installation pieces, and photography. Visitors can expect to see any of these forms of media on their adventures inside.

Dyan says that he and his team are keeping an eye on the local arts scene for talent to showcase to the city, if not beyond. A committee meets a few times a year to discuss candidates. He also notes that the original Singapore gallery is heavily involved in that city-state’s museum and art-event scene, which has grown considerably over the past three decades. “We could do the same here in Houston, and we'll be very, very happy to participate in a big cultural art event,” Dyan says. “This will be our wish and goal.”

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to clarify that the Aspen location has closed.