Art Market Banking on New Generation of Collectors

The global art market is not immune to current economic and geopolitical tensions, and is counting on a new generation of collectors to revitalize the momentum.

- (By: Nathalie Olof-ors/AFP)

Some big transactions were done during this year's Art Basel, the world's top contemporary art fair, notably by London's Annely Juda Fine Art gallery, which sold a David Hockney painting for between $13 million and $17 million, without disclosing the exact price.

The David Zwirner gallery sold a sculpture by Ruth Asawa for $9.5 million and a Gerhard Richter painting for $6.8 million.

However, prices did not reach the heights achieved in 2022, when the art market was in full swing. Back then, a sculpture by French-American artist Louise Bourgeois was purchased for $40 million.

"The market is certainly softer," said Art Basel's chief executive Noah Horowitz, though major sales still happen at such fairs "despite, somehow, all that's going on in the world".

Switzerland's biggest bank UBS and the research and consulting firm Arts Economics prepared a report for the fair.