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How Is the Global Art Market Changing?
- Anna Nowak
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
Shifts, New Trends and Emerging Collecting Directions – Key insights from the Art Basel & UBS Report 2025
2024 brought profound changes to the global art market — not just in numbers and graphs, but in attitudes and perceptions. We are witnessing a transformation that is cultural, economic and generational in nature.
This is confirmed by the Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report 2025 – one of the most trusted and comprehensive sources of insight into the global art market, published annually by the experts at Arts Economics.
The report shows that the market is entering a new phase — more open, flexible and focused on values rather than prestige alone..
What’s Changing – 7 Key Trends
1. More Transactions Despite Lower Overall Sales While the overall market value declined by 12%, the number of transactions increased by 3%. More artworks are changing hands — but within lower price brackets. This signals a growing accessibility and democratization of the art market.
2. Noticeable Weakening of the High-End Segment Sales of artworks priced above $10 million dropped by as much as 45%. Collectors are approaching auctions with greater caution, as prestige gives way to more thoughtful selection.
3. A Boom in the Under-$5,000 Segment This category saw a 13% rise in transaction volume and a 7% increase in value. More affordable works are gaining popularity – good news for emerging collectors.
4. Small Galleries Gaining Ground Galleries with annual turnovers below $250,000 reported a 17% increase in sales. Local focus, attentiveness, and personal relationships are becoming powerful competitive advantages.
5. Steady Online Sales and Growing Trust in Digital Channels Online sales now make up 18% of the total market, with 46% of buyers being first-time collectors. Digital platforms are no longer the future — they are the foundation of today’s art ecosystem. Their role in reaching new generations of collectors, and the trust they’re building, continues to grow.
6. More Private Sales Private sales through auction houses rose by 14%, while public auction sales dropped by 25%. Collectors are increasingly seeking discretion, calm, and control over the buying process.
7. A Shift Toward the Classics Post-War, Modern, and Old Masters segments are growing. While Contemporary Art remains relevant, the market is turning toward stability and established names
What does this mean for art audiences? – Key insights
This transformation goes beyond numbers — it’s a shift in consciousness. The art market is no longer reserved for the few.
A new generation of collectors — Millennials and Gen Z — is rapidly entering the collecting scene, becoming a major force of change. They’re not focused solely on prestige — they seek works with authentic identity, meaning, and emotional depth. The story matters — of both the artist and the object. More and more, they choose art that allows for personal identification and a genuine connection.
The collecting process itself is also evolving.There is a growing emphasis on relationships, transparency, and flexibility. Small galleries, online platforms and private sales are together shaping a more inclusive art ecosystem.
Vellum Gallery – Our Response to a Changing Reality
As an online gallery, Vellum Gallery operates in tune with contemporary shifts. At the heart of our mission is the creation of a space for conscious collecting — accessible, transparent, and rooted in values. We build relationships based on trust, openness, and availability.
We present a curated selection of contemporary art and craft created with thoughtfulness, passion and deep respect for material, craftsmanship and tradition.
Among them:
– organic wooden forms by Maciej Gąsienica Giewont
– glass sculptures by Justyna Żak, inspired by nature’s cycles
– biomorphic ceramics by Olesya and Andrij Voznicki– reflective, light
-filled paintings by Agnieszka Wielewska
– emotionally charged abstractions by Bernard Boujol
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What’s next?
The art world is undergoing a real transformation — moving away from elitism toward greater openness, meaning, and relationality. For many, it is becoming a space of personal choice, identification, and engagement.
Perhaps this is a good moment to ask yourself: What role can art play in my life? Am I ready to become a part of it?
Visit us at: www.vellumgallery.com.
Discover artists who, through their work, give new meaning to objects and a personal dimension to space.
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