The Return of the Gallery

Jeff Koons’s Blue Balloon Dog sits on a pedestal, a shiny cerulean object that reflects the viewer like a funhouse mirror — a familiar shape from childhood parties, where some trickster once twisted something straight into something canine and wondrous. It has captivated the art world, and it fits right in with pet-friendly, art-loving West Palm Beach, a city increasingly interested in seeing itself reflected back.

It’s one of the recognizable works on view at Carousel Fine Art, a new gallery in the NORA District with an ambitious aim: to revive a city gallery scene that had all but disappeared. NORA — short for North of Railroad Avenue — has taken shape along the downtown train tracks, where developers spent the past few years coaxing four decades’ worth of aging rail warehouses back to life. Buildings that once moved freight now hold restaurants, boutiques, wellness studios, offices, and galleries, with a hotel on the way.