Art is not an Investment: Reframing Art as Essential in a Shifting Market

Hey, so—real talk. The art market? Kind of going through it.

Two big reports just dropped—one from Marc Spiegler in his Arts Radar column, and the other from the newly launched Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report—offering sobering insights into how the art world is responding, and where we might be headed.

Together, they tell a story of a market that’s not just slowing down—it’s shifting. And fast.

So buckle up. Here’s what you need to know, without falling asleep or throwing your Basquiat out the window. In a moment of considerable flux, both culturally and economically, the art market is showing its seams—and its resilience.

A Market in Contraction

Writing for Arts Radar, Spiegler paints a picture of a market that's not only cooling—but contracting. Spiegler doesn’t sugarcoat it: 2024 was rough. After two lackluster years, global art sales fell 12%, landing at around $57.5 billion—which is flirting with a 10-year low. And here’s the kicker: the art world has long pretended it’s immune to real-world economics. Turns out? It’s not.

Rising shipping costs, messy U.S. trade policies, insurance hikes—it’s all catching up. Even mega-sales over $10 million have taken a nosedive. And while that might sound like “boohoo for the billionaires,” there’s a bigger problem: the market is teeny at the top. Just 1.5% of auction lots account for 75% of value.

Which means: most of the industry is relying on a tiny handful of very expensive things by very few, very famous painters.

Spiegler also points to a deeper shift—not just economic, but cultural. The next-gen collectors? They’re coming. But they don’t necessarily want what their parents did. They’re less about owning the object, and more about experiencing the moment. They want transparency, speed, and access. Not hushed backrooms and 200-page PDF previews with no prices on them.

So galleries and advisors? Time to catch up. This new audience doesn’t care about how long your gallery’s been on Madison Ave. They care if you answer your DMs.

The Art Basel & UBS Report: Caution and Transition

Which brings us to the Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report, and APAA's critical role in interpreting it.

According to them, the market right now is defined by three things: Caution, discretion, and transition.

Risk-averse collectors are leaning heavily on advisors and going private. Because auctions? Too public. Too unpredictable. Too many headlines. Private sales let people buy what they want, quietly—and without the chaos. But here’s the twist: That quiet market? It also means the best works… don’t hit the public eye. If you don’t have a good advisor, you might not even know they were available.

Now here’s where it gets trickier. Yes, new money is still coming in. But it’s mostly playing at the lower end—under $1 million. Sometimes under $100k. And that segment? It’s crowded. It’s chaotic. It’s full of hype and FOMO and artists you’ve never heard of until they’re suddenly everywhere—and then nowhere six months later. So, again, advisors matter. Not just to flex—but to help collectors figure out: What’s good? What’s hype? And what’s actually worth holding onto?

So, is the art market broken? No. But it’s bending.

The big players are quieter. The new ones are pickier. The middle is messy, speculative, and very online.

And through it all, one thing’s clear: Taste is back. Strategy is back. And your overpriced, under-researched impulse buy? Might not hold.

So: breathe. Buy what you love. Ask good questions. And maybe—just maybe—text your advisor before the paddle goes up.

We are here to help. Because all of this, in my opinion, points to one very clear truth:

We’ve over-financialised the art market—and it’s made a mess. We’ve spent years treating art like it’s just another asset class. A luxury good. A status symbol. That’s the mistake.

Because art isn’t a luxury. It’s a biological need. It’s how we process the world. How we understand ourselves. How we survive chaos. There’s real science behind this—art improves cognition, empathy, mental health, even trauma recovery. So while the market contracts and repositions and rebrands, let’s remember: Art isn’t optional. It’s foundational.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s where the next chapter begins—not in a spreadsheet, but in a studio. Not in the data, but in the doing.

Let’s get back to focusing on that.