This year has been a wild one for the art world, as the pandemic-fueled buzz and market collapse remind everyone that even the brightest markets are subject to gravity. With secondary market sales down 29 percent from last year, the once-booming sector is down a whopping 39 percent, according to an Artnet and Morgan Stanley Intelligence Report covering key art destinations from New York to Hong Kong. It's been a real experiment: headline-generating auction records and splashy releases are rare as the art industry sticks to safe bets, focusing on museum-quality deliveries and iconic classics.
Gone are the grand consignments of recent years such as the collections of Peggy and David Rockefeller, Paul G. Allen and Macklowe that once electrified the auction floor. Today's rare marquee events are fueled by the ongoing transfer of wealth around the world, where goods such as art are happily passed around. Of course, New York is still the undisputed art capital, but it has serious competition with Hong Kong's rising stardom, as the new wealth and cultural power of South Asia creates fertile ground for its growth. As head of Sotheby's Modern Art in Asia, Felix Kwok told the Observer, “The whole of Asia is going through changes in terms of what art means to people and places.” He's not kidding—Hong Kong's value of artworks rising from $90.6 million in 2013 is proof of that, with modern and contemporary works reaching $269.4 million and $206.1 million recently. Whether all this private money in the arts will lead to greater independence from government influence—or bring the creative freedom artists seek—is up in the air.
Meanwhile, Paris has returned to the cultural stage, helped by Brexit and the dynamics of the pandemic. With Art Basel firmly in place, the city enjoyed cool art sales of $1 billion between 2021-2022 before dipping to $864 million in 2023. Yet Paris still managed a 30 percent increase since 2013—an impressive increase, in stark contrast to London's struggles. , where sales fell from $473.6 million in 2014 to $216 million in 2023. For some, this is British restraint of old; for others, it's proof that Paris has reclaimed its long-lost art capital crown.
Galleries, too, were forced to rotate. Pandemic-era PDF sales are no longer flying in 2024—today's collectors want places with a personal touch, so galleries are back to attracting buyers and institutions in person. It is not the case of speculators of the pandemic era, many of whom have quietly exited, citing “personal reasons” as they step away from the limelight. In their place are discerning collectors who focus on artists with established records and institutional support to create long-term works.
Art fairs around the world continue to grow—and they are incredibly large. No longer just art trading floors, today's fairs cater to the masses who want an “experience” through shopping, aiming to achieve an audience that craves more than a sales pitch. Amidst these changing priorities, speculators who once treated art like stock have left, leaving serious collectors who still see the value of a canvas rather than a quick return.
Institutions, on the other hand, are deep in self-examination post-Covid, dealing with accessibility, ownership and the challenges of keeping museum doors open. Some, like New York's Rubin Museum, have simply closed their physical spaces, while others are moving forward with new strategies to reimagine what museums can be in 2024. Atlanta's High Museum of Art has taken a bold approach, adding works by women, LGBTQ and BIPOC artists, lowering admission prices, and expanding family-friendly spaces. The Andy Warhol Museum's Pop District initiative is diversifying revenue like never before. The Denver Art Museum re-sustains its Native collections through close collaboration with Native communities, proving that art spaces need not just diversity but connection.
Philanthropy is still casting for the next big guy (a Komal Shah type) to lead with both dollars and vision. Currently, the art market is carefully adapting to these changes. The big players are watching closely as new buyers emerge from younger generations and new regions, testing the waters to see how this audience will engage with art once life returns to its normal rhythm. According to those in the know, a market overhaul was inevitable—a necessary shake-up after the tumult of the pandemic. And now, as the players below show, game changers and market leaders are shaping the next chapter of the art world.
