#art-market

#art-market

One recent weekday morning, the British painter Peter Doig arrived at a bonded warehouse-a cavernous brick building-about a mile south of the River Thames, but not subject to the import taxes of the United Kingdom. He buzzed through security and entered a windowless white room, where he settled in for a long day. Awaiting him were a series of etching prints that had been brought over from the United States to be signed by Doig before being put up for sale.

Much of the macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainty has not gone away, and there is now the added threat that the artificial intelligence (AI) stock market bubble looks ready to burst. Within the art market, the shift in taste towards lower-priced art (plus a few trophies) seems here to stay as collectors nurse the reality that their "investments" in art have not paid off these past ten years or so.

The contraction of the global art market stretched well into 2025, with the challenging macro environment cited as a key reason behind the closures of several prominent businesses. Middle market powerhouses Blum (with locations in Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo) and Clearing (New York, Los Angeles) both shut shop, while stalwart New York dealerships Sperone Westwater, Tilton and Kasmin also announced their closures.

First it was the November evening sales in New York, and this week it was the Miami fairs. It so happens that our Senior Editor Valentina Di Liscia is a Miami native who knows the city beyond this once-a-year escapade for art worlders. She was there this week to cut through the BS and see through gimmicks ranging from a revolving library on the beach to Beeple's robodogs of famous men.

To VIP or not to VIP? The art market is currently caught between two competing dynamics. On one hand, the longtime ultra-wealthy are demanding increasingly exclusive treatment now that it seems everyone (with money) can enjoy the finer things in life. On the other hand, the next wave of the rich, notably younger generations and women, is eschewing the old-school trappings of exclusivity in favour of a more socially-minded approach to luxury.

The proposed tax, which came from the country's left-wing Social Democrats party, would have taxed all inheritances and gifts of more than 50 million Swiss Francs, or about $62.3 million, at a rate of 50 percent. Ahead of the vote, Swiss billionaire Peter Spuhler told Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger that his family would struggle to pay an inheritance tax as their wealth is tied up in several companies, including train manufacturer Stadler Rail, which he founded. Spuhler threatened to leave the country if the tax passed.

You're a painter who blew up after a group show at a blue-chip gallery that is now clamoring to sign you. You've been on the roster at a small gallery that has been deeply committed to your career. Now you can jump ship, but will it turn you into a jerk? Take this quiz to find out if you should level up to the big leagues or stick with the scrappy farm team.

On November 18, Sotheby's rolled out the blue carpet, hung the velvet ropes, and poured Champagne for attendees on the inaugural night of auctions at the Breuer Building, its new headquarters on Madison Avenue. The collection of the late cosmetics billionaire Leonard A. Lauder was on the block, and the house desperately needed a strong showing. The global art market has endured a grim two years of sliding sales and gallery closures, but Sotheby's has been in a more precarious position than most.

And now he has set a world record at auction. On Monday afternoon (24 November) in Paris, Artcurial sold Reni's early-17th-century, oil-on-canvas work, David and Goliath, for €12.39m (including fees), breaking the artist's previous auction record by a considerable sum. The work's pre-sale estimate was just €2m-€4m and its buyer, according to the auction house, was a private European collector.

On the second floor of Hany Armanious's exhibition at Buxton Contemporary in Melbourne, a curl of tangerine peel lies on a shelf, its yellowing, pithy insides facing upwards. It feels like it should be cleaned up, but it won't be. The rind is not rubbish discarded by a careless visitor: it's a perfect resin cast made by Armanious. Placed carefully around the gallery are resin recreations of other items more commonly seen in bins: a group of melted candles, blobs of Blu-Tack, crumbly chunks of polystyrene.

Hammer Presents Merry-Achi Christmas 2025: The Mariachi Sol de Mexico returns to the Hammer Theatre Center for a musical tribute to Mexico's Christmas traditions. Be mesmerized by a multicultural celebration featuring holiday favorites from America and Mexico. Performances will also have Mexican Sign Language. 2:30 p.m., Hammer Theater Center, 101 Paseo De San Antonio, San Jose. bit.ly/4icAGUb "Kinky Boots": The boots are back!

Bonhams will relocate its US headquarters to 111 West 57th Street this February, establishing a new flagship inside the landmarked Steinway Hall as the 230-year-old auction house accelerates its expansion in one of the world's largest art markets. The move marks a major step for Bonhams, founded in 1793 and now operating globally across more than 60 categories, from fine art and design to collector cars and luxury.

The International Fine Print Dealers Association will rebrand to become the International Fine Prints and Drawings Association (IFPDA) following a vote to expand membership to dealers working with drawings. The next IFPDA Print Fair (9 April 2026-12 April 2026) at the Park Avenue Armory in New York will reflect the shift. "This is an historic moment for the IFPDA," David Tunick, the president of the organisation's board, said in a statement. "In welcoming drawing dealers, we're honouring the shared lineage and scholarly connection between prints and drawings. It's an expansion that both strengthens our community and aligns with how museums and collectors engage with works on paper today."

A spokesperson for HM Revenue & Customs confirmed to The Art Newspaper that it had launched the investigation that led to the prosecution, believed to be the first under the law banning the supply of luxury goods to Russia.

Court documents show that Hauser & Wirth allegedly sold Popov the artwork between April 2022 and December 2022. The UK government made it illegal to provide luxury goods, including jewelry, art, cars, and antiques valued over £250 ($330), to Russia in March 2022, when it announced a ban on exports of high-end goods. The European Union also implemented a ban on luxury goods exports as part of its sanctions against Russia in the same month. These moves were the result of Russia invading Ukraine.

"One thing that I realized while writing is that heists are actually easier to execute than we see in movies and on TV shows," Piazza tells Bustle. "So I might have been the least surprised person on the planet about the Louvre heist. In fact, I felt so validated in how I executed it on the page. I also think my version is a little sexier."

This is the market laid bare, with all of its champagne, ludicrous outfits and obscene excess on brazen display for anyone willing to fork out a wodge on a ticket. That's what reviews of Frieze generally complain about, all the greedy capitalistic knives being stabbed into the heart of their beloved, pure art. But Frieze, and the more refined Frieze Masters, isn't really about art.

The classic picture of the mature magnate bidding for a Rothko at a London auction room is giving way to that of young individuals in their early thirties who invest from their mobile phones, share online stories of their favorite art stands from the Frieze Seoul fair, and buy and sell digital art with the joy of someone who accepts that everything in this life is transitory, so that leaving a legacy is not a priority.