SEVEN CRITICAL TRENDS THAT RESHAPED THE GLOBAL ART MARKET IN 2024
The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2025 revealed prominent trends in the art market last year, that provide some reassurance despite the overall12% decline in overall sales. Art Basel round up their top seven trends from the report that reshaped the art market in 2024. The first trend was the increase in transactions, despite a softening market; the 3% increase in volume to 40.5 million sales perhaps points towards a shift in market activity rather than an overall decline. This can also be supported by the robust market for lower-priced works and the second noted trend of significant decreases in the sales of higher priced pieces. The number of lots sold at auction for over $10 million fell by 39%, with the share of market value from works surpassing $10 million in value dropping from 23% in 2023 to 18% in 2024. A shift in regional dynamics was also noted, with a slight decline noted in the American market. The UK reclaimed its position as the second largest art market, followed by China in third place. It was also observed that smaller galleries proved more resilient than larger galleries, which highlights how pressures were translated into different business scales. As for art fairs, the report noted that combined with digital channels, they drove new buyer acquisition. Leading on from this, private sales through auction houses increased by 14% while public-auction sales declined by 25%. Finally, it was noted that the contemporary art sector was hit particularly hard last year, while Post-War, Modern, and Old Master sectors reported either stability or an increase in sales.
JESSICA MORGAN ON TAKING THE DIA ART FOUNDATION COLLECTION TO MUMBAI
‘Light into Space’, an exhibition organised by Dia Art Foundation and The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC), will be presented at the Art House at NMACC until 11 May 2025. Presenting works by prominent artists of the 1960s and 1970s, such as Dan Flavin, Nancy Holt, Robert Irwin and Mary Corse. The exhibition will mark the first time that a US-based institution has shown its collection in India. Dia director, Jessica Morgan, discusses the challenges of this project and the forging of two leading cultural organisations. Morgan reveals that the origins of the exhibition lay in the conversation surrounding Dia’s outreach to new audiences outside of the US. Due to the sculptural element of the works, Mumbai provided the perfect setting due to the unique way in which light, architecture and the urban environment interact. The cultural and spiritual significance of light in India also adds a further layer of depth to the exhibition, with festivals like Diwali serving as key reference points for the project. As for the logistical aspect of the exhibition, transporting and installing works of such scale has presented its challenges. Temperature and humidity control have also been important factors to consider. In addition, Dia have taken into consideration the environmental impact of such international exhibitions, and have been aiming to use sustainable packing materials, reuse crates, and working with shipping companies that adhere to sustainable practices. Morgan also discusses the potential for technology to aid in future projects in the same vein, and how it can be utilised to increase the accessibility of art.
‘Light into Space’, 2025, exhibition view
ELINE VANSTEENKISTE, TIM VAN LAERE GALLERY
Tim Van Laere Gallery opened Belgian artist Eline Vansteenkiste’s first solo show this week at their gallery in Antwerp. Vansteenkiste’s paintings are a fantastical blend of medieval imagery and cartographical information, presented through a cinematic lens that captures a tension between order and disorder. The densely populated scenes serve as metaphors for the battles that lie within the human psyche, exploring our inner instincts and how one claims their position in the world. Vansteenkiste draws inspiration from artists like Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel, while also exploring the cartographic traditions of the 16th century. The medieval cartographical influences are particularly highlighted in the way Vansteenkiste blurs the boundaries between reality and the mythical. It can also be noted that the figures in the scenes are all women, which juxtaposes with the traditions of medieval cartography. As for the cinematic influences, Andrei Tarkovsky’s treatment of landscape and its potential to be transformed from terrain into psychological and mythological space, is infused into the artist’s landscapes. With their long, tangled hair, there is a sense of freedom and fearlessness that runs throughout the figures, as they navigate the unknown.
Eline Vansteenkiste, Crack of Dawn, 2024–25
5 ARTISTS ON OUR RADAR IN APRIL 2025
Artsy have released their top five artists for April, chosen for the impact they have been making in the art world. The first on the list is Clara Gesang-Gottowt, a Swedish artist who is known for her abstract landscape paintings that portray both the expansive and the intimate. A feeling of hazy recollection permeates the paintings, drifting in a space between memory and emotion. The second on the list is Zoe Hawk, who’s playful compositions explore girlhood, as it balances on the precipice of womanhood. Hawk injects a sense of whimsy into the works, while addressing the intricacies of this transformative time and the evolving nature of friendships between girls and women. Next Artsy lists Junyi Lu, a London-based artist whose mixed media paintings create ghostly canvases that capture the ephemerality of dreams and memory. The use of gauze, thread, and paper drawings, come together to form layered imagery, sensuous and ghostly at the same time. The penultimate artist is Kelly Sinnapah Mary, who uses her own cultural heritage as a foundation for her works. Growing up in Guadeloupe, Sinnapah Mary always identified as Afro-Caribbean, before discovering that her lineage stemmed from South Indian indentured labourers brought to the Caribbean. This shines through her paintings, which often deal with themes of revealed identities and the legacy of colonialism. Finally Artsy lists Rachel Youn as one of their top artists due to her rhythmic, kinetic sculptures. Salvaged motors control fake flowers, causing them to “dance,” swinging and spinning in tandem. There is a stilted, awkward presentation of desire, the machines perhaps a substitute for human touch.
WHAT’S BEHIND THE SENSATIONAL RESURGENCE OF ETTORE SOTTSASS AND MEMPHIS GROUP
Milan’s Salone del Mobile opens this week in Milan, with archival revivals, global exhibitions, and artistic homages. At the 1981 edition of Salone del Mobile radical design collective Memphis Group made their debut, going against the minimalist trends of the time. Geometric shapes and anti-functional forms brought humour to design with their clashing colours and patterns, also drawing from utilitarian materials and utopian ideals. Ettore Sottsass, the leader of the collective, has long been a force in the design world, but Memphis remains a defining chapter in his career. Having come in and out of fashion for decades, this resurgence in Memphis can be seen as another one of its iterations. Across the globe, there has been a revival in the popularity of Sottsass’ work, with two Memphis “Enorme” telephones sold last week at Design.Space in Los Angeles. It has been suggested that Memphis has often experienced popularity during times of upheaval, with the pastels and whimsical approach providing a breath of fresh air and an escape from reality. Marc Benda, co-founder of Friedman Benda, shared, “Both Memphis and earlier movements like Art Deco were born out of moments of flux—periods of uncertainty and radical political change. There’s always a curiosity during those times for new aesthetics.”
Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass
Jordan Tan holds an MA in History of Art from the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art. With a passion for fine art and the art market, Jordan plays a key role at Art Works by researching and interpreting trends across the primary and secondary markets, delivering valuable insights and business intelligence for the fine art department.
