Art lovers stay conservative at Art Basel, with art market staying soft amid global challenges

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

Some big transactions were concluded last week during Art Basel, the world’s top contemporary art fair, notably by London’s Annely Juda Fine Art gallery, which sold a painting by English artist David Hockney for between US$13 million and US$17 million (S$16.6 million and S$21.7 million), without disclosing the exact price.

The David Zwirner gallery sold a sculpture by American visual artist Ruth Asawa for US$9.5 million and a painting by German visual artist Gerhard Richter for US$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 US$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.

According to their estimates, the art market slowed in 2023, then fell by 12 per cent globally in 2024, to US$57.5 billion, with the decline particularly affecting works valued at more than US$10 million.

“In the next six to 12 months, I don’t see any changes on the horizon,” said Mr Hans Laenen, an art market specialist at insurer AXA XL.

In a time of economic and geopolitical uncertainties, “investors are turning very strongly to gold”, he added.

In the art sector, behaviour is “more conservative” among both buyers and sellers, who prefer to wait before putting works on the market in the current climate, he said.

The number of transactions is increasing, but in “lower-price segments”, he noted.

According to insurance firm Hiscox, the number of lots sold for less than US$50,000 increased by 20 per cent in auction houses in 2024, while very highly priced works saw a sharp drop, indicating a change in collector behaviour.

A new generation 

According to Mr Jean Gazancon, chief executive of art insurer Arte Generali, a younger generation of collectors is entering the market.

“We are insuring more and more 30-somethings for collections of €300,000, €500,000 or a million euros,” he said.

“These are successful start-uppers, investment bankers, lawyers, or sometimes people who have inherited,” and they begin their collections very young, sometimes making “very radical” choices, he added.

UBS expects that trend to increase. According to its projections, an unprecedented wealth transfer will take place over the next 20 to 25 years with the general ageing of the population.

Globally, around US$83 trillion in assets will change hands, it says, meaning “there’s a whole new generation of collectors coming to the market with different buying patterns”, said Mr Eric Landolt, global co-head of the family advisory, art and collecting department at UBS.

The four-day Art Basel fair, which closed on June 22, featured more than 280 galleries presenting works by around 4,000 artists.

It is a must for collectors, who can buy everything from Pablo Picasso paintings to very recent works.

The Thaddaeus Ropac galleries notably offered a portrait of Pope Leo XIV by Chinese-French artist Yan Pei-Ming.

It also highlights young artists, such as Lebanese-Canadian Joyce Joumaa, 27, who jointly won the 2025 Baloise Art Prize for her work focusing on the energy crisis in Lebanon. AFP

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