Although the art market is undergoing major adjustments to return to pre-popular levels, it significantly expands its base. Now, fewer crazy races reaching record-breaking multi-digit prices in the range of $10,000 and below, a shift that shows that democratic markets are becoming increasingly stable. These are key takeaways from the latest report compiled by Artprice, which focuses only on auction results and does not provide a complete picture of the overall market. However, there are still many things to unpack here.
Global sales at auction have lowered the $2 billion threshold, reflecting the level during the Covid-ersa boom. But even after the height of the pandemic, contemporary art remains the core pillar of the global market, now accounting for more than 17% of the total value. Its growth has been explosive over the past two decades, jumping from $169 million to $1.888 billion. More importantly, the number of contemporary art transactions has doubled over the past decade.
See: Data from Art Basel and UBS show market stability despite falling collector spending
Just like during the pandemic, auction houses have now fully embraced online and mixed sales, thus increasing access to contemporary art worldwide. This digital shift is crucial to the surge in refueling, with more than 132,000 transactions in 2024, a record number. According to the report, this growth is driven primarily by an unprecedented wave of sales at the easiest price point (below $5,000), as auction houses work to attract new generations of buyers, especially Gen Z and millennials.
Despite the promise of a more open and diversified market, turnover remains concentrated at the top. Just 500 top performers generated $1.59 billion in sales, accounting for 84.4% of global auction turnover. Nevertheless, even at this upper level, it is becoming increasingly difficult for auction houses to purchase. Just last month, Christie made headlines by securing the Riggio collection.
As the super market experiences price adjustments, demand remains stable
The ongoing generational transfer of wealth and shifts in aesthetic preferences have also driven the significant rise of the hyper-sustaining sector, a significant rise for artists born after 1974, which grew from $65 million sales between 2017 and 2020 to a peak of $427 million in 2021/2022, reaching a 557% increase in 257%. During this golden age, 64 works (mainly “fresh paintings” by artists under 40) achieved record results, each with a score of over 500,000. As these fast-rise stars are now facing market corrections, auction houses have taken a more cautious approach. To avoid the risk of unsold or underperforming, fewer super-sustaining names have emerged in night sales in New York and Hong Kong, where they once dominated. For comparison, in the 2023/2024 period, only 43 works by super-artists exceeded the $500,000 threshold.
Artprice’s data is consistent with the discovery of the Artnet price database, which reported that over-accompaniment sales at auctions fell by 37.9% at auctions between 2023 and 2024, following an earlier contraction of 25.1% from 2022 to 2023. Nevertheless, even among post-postctormential collectors, the pandemic-mictormential collector returns to a more valuable thinking willing price, perhaps the remaining price, perhaps the remaining price, perhaps the fresh price, and this may be strange, yet strange agent. In 2024, ultra-modern art accounted for nearly US$150 million, accounting for 8% of the total value of the contemporary art market. Despite the wider cooling, some artists continue to perform well, with women accounting for a major part of today’s best-selling products. These include consistent auction stars such as Jadé Fadojutimi, Lucy Bull, Avery Singer, Loie Hollowell, Issy Wood, Christina Quarles and Ewa Juszkiewicz. Only three men – Matthew Wong, Chen Fei and new contestant Mohammed Sami have placed it in the top ten for auction this year, suggesting that the long-standing gender gap has not only narrowed, but may now be on the verge of a complete reversal.
According to Artprice, the first ten queues alone generated $59 million in 2024, accounting for 40% of the entire super market. From a geographical and cultural perspective, it is worth noting that most of these best-performing young artists come from the United States, reaffirming the central role of the country and New York in shaping and promoting new talent. A notable exception is Polish-born New York Juszkiewicz, whose market soared after she joined Gagosian’s roster. Today, just one of the most popular artists in her country, demand for her paintings only accounts for 20% of Poland’s pre-auction revenue last year. Her rise has helped Poland enter the top five super art markets in the world, with the industry’s national growth reaching 69% in 2023/2024.
The $10,000-50,000 range is the best location for the contemporary market
According to the report, while the $5,000-$10,000 price segment is not very stable – accounting for 6% of all transactions, the $10,000 to $50,000 range remains dynamic, accounting for 8% of the market. More importantly, the bracket now represents a strategic sweet spot where secondary market collectors can obtain work through established artists who are largely masked by speculative madness and subsequent collapse and root their professions in institutional recognition and fixed resumes. For example, by Hauser & Wirth, the market for works by internationally renowned Indian artist Shilpa Gupta, the exhibition history includes many of the world’s most prestigious institutions, continuing to operate within this range. Compared with other peers, her job is affordable in the secondary market. By comparison, segments above the $50,000 threshold are facing real pressure (at the trophy level – a sharp drop, while sales fell 21% compared to the previous year down 21% from the previous year.
New York’s resilience, Hong Kong’s synchronization, and growth in French and Indian markets
Like many other industries, the art market responded to the rapidly shifting geopolitical and economic dynamics, resulting in a decline in auction volumes for contemporary art and the emergence of new global centers. A large decline was recorded in previous major markets such as the UK and China. London fell 26% in 2024, the lowest in a decade. While some notable results and high sales rates come from well-planned low-risk products, last week’s London night auction proved that the market remains lukewarm in the UK capital.
In China, collectors have taken a more cautious stance. According to Artprice, this led to a 32% drop, although it is important to note that this figure refers only to international houses operating primarily in Hong Kong, as the database does not include mainland Chinese auction houses such as Poly. Nevertheless, Hong Kong has passed the flag in 2024, with the new landmark spaces of Christie, Sotheby’s and Bonhams reaffirming its regional leadership, which has already launched its Asia Pacific headquarters next to the M+ Museum in 2023.
In contrast, the U.S. market (especially New York auction houses) proved resilience, with only a 9% drop, which is largely attributed to softening at the top end. No $50 million trademark was sold this year. However, this has been significantly increased by the number of increased numbers: New York has increased 150% since the pre-pandemic era, reaching a record 41,000 times in 2024. One phenomenon highlighted by the report is the growing conspiracy between New York and Hong Kong, which has established elements related to the new amount of recognition and popularity of news, which is a new auction.
Meanwhile, France was the strongest in the year, generating $62.8 million in total sales, a 33% increase from 2023. Reflecting this momentum, Sotheby’s invested in a new luxury headquarters in the upscale San Honore area of Paris. Pre-merger sales estimates for the first Paris auction (“Modernités” and White-Glove “Surrealism and its Legacy”) totaled €60 million (US$65 million) in October last year.
Perhaps even more unexpectedly, the Artprice report shows that the Indian market has also seen a large number of post-pandemic growth, placing it among the ten most important global art markets. The rise in interest locally and internationally, and this momentum sparked this momentum – among the leading Indian artists in the 20th century, like Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, Sayed Haider Raza and Tyeb Mehta, this is due to the interests they included in the Venice Biennale of Pedrosa. Meanwhile, the country’s contemporary segment experienced an astonishing 122% growth, generating $13.4 million in sales.
To sum up, the Artprice Report shows the current art market a more subtle and terrifying portrait than some people expect. It ultimately emphasizes the resilience of the contemporary sector, and even greater resilience in the advanced sector, which continues to benefit from consistent demand after it flourished under the special conditions of the pandemic.
What we are witnessing now is not a collapse, but a long-term expiration of prices and reality – a check on the market. Hopefully this recalibration will pave the way for greater stability while also expanding access through new technologies, new buyers and new regional hubs that have played a crucial role in making the global art ecosystem more democratic and sustainable.
