The Contemporary and Ultra-Contemporary Art Market Report 2024

After the 2021 peak?

Coming out of the COVID-19 crisis, the market experienced an extraordinary rebound, but over the past two years, the prestige segment has faltered. With fewer major Contemporary works on offer and a dwindling cash flow, the art market is clearly struggling in an unstable geo-economic context that contrasts with the global rebound that took it to historic post-Covid heights.

7 or 8 digit results, already in sharp decline the previous year, have become even rarer, severely undermining the sales totals of the largest art marketplaces like New York, London and Hong Kong.

Nevertheless, despite this high-end contraction in 2023/34, global art auction turnover on the Contemporary art segment of the art market was still $200 million higher than its average annual turnover generated during the five years preceding the Covid pandemic - a clear illustration of the overall robustness of the Contemporary art auction market.

Download the full report for free >>>

Towards a more open market

The art auction market has demonstrated a remarkable resilience and a surprising ability to adapt, despite significant turbulence in the global economy.

With no results above $50 million, not even for works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, the premium segment is clearly showing signs of tension.

However, the Contemporary art market is substantially consolidating its more affordable foundations with sales of works under $10,000 rocketing, bringing new stability and increased resilience to crises and economic crosswinds.

The market is opening up well beyond its stars and reinventing itself, driven by an ever-more diverse and abundant offering.

Auction houses are redoubling their efforts to highlight a wider range of accessible lots. Above all, this rapid broadening of its base is the fruit of a generalized move towards digitalization that was initiated during the Covid crisis. During the lockdowns, when auction houses were forced to cancel their physical sales, they continued their activity online. The health crisis ultimately had positive impacts on the structure of auction houses and on the quality of exchanges, by considerably accelerating the digital transformation of the art market. Contemporary art has benefited from these advances with the number of transactions up 72% compared with before the pandemic.

Evolution of the number of Contemporary works sold at auction by price range

[Link]

New opportunities

The art market has entered an era of strategic restructuring. Its key players are now adopting a more measured and demanding approach. They have taken a step back from the spectacular price surges of artists like Nicolas Party and Kaws.

Spectacular, and in many cases speculative, auction room (and online) exuberance has given way to a more informed and nuanced analysis of what is currently valuable.

This return to caution has not spared NFT works, and the net result of the new sobriety is a golden opportunity to build a strong and sustainable market, away from media spotlights.

The current lull in the market opens up windows of opportunity to acquire works by numerous artists, including works by the likes of SubodhGupta and Richard Long. It also allows a new spotlight to shine on new talents that have remained in the shadows until now.

Download the full report for free >>>

Female artists are emerging

Despite the market turbulence, female artists are clearly emerging from the shadows at a rapid pace.

Over the past year, Julie Mehretu has been the leading example of this trend: fifth in our global ranking of Contemporary artists by their respective annual art auction turnovers, she has overtaken market titans like Damien Hirst and Richard Prince.

The trend is even more visible in the under-40s artists age-group (Ultra-Contemporary artists) where women now clearly dominate the rankings. For two consecutive years, they have been ahead of their male counterparts with seven women among the ten most successful Ultra-Contemporary artists, led by Jadé Fadojutimi.

Formerly a marginalized segment of the market, Contemporary art has become an essential pillar of the global Fine Art market, today representing 17% of its total value. This sector, with its increasing inclusiveness and greater accessibility is more conducive to a more strategic approach, and it has shown impressive agility as it continues to attract a wider audience, with a yet another record volume of transactions this year.

The higher volume of transactions is not just an economic trend, it reveals a deep socio-cultural transformation. Contemporary Art, once an elitist bastion, is now opening to a much wider audience, becoming a market that is affordable for a much higher proportion of the global population.

What is the state of the Contemporary Art Market two years after the extraordinary post-Covid boom? What are the most robust price segments and which artists have managed to stand out in such a complex context?

Find the key figures, analyses and rankings of artists in our Annual Report on the Contemporary and Ultra-Contemporary Art.

Download the full report for free >>>

What you will find in the 2024 Contemporary & Ultra-contemporary Art Market Report

1. Global auction results

Main trends and key figures

Contemporary Art sales, country by country

State of play of the Ultra-Contemporary art market

2. The most successful artists

The top-end of the Contemporary art market

Three essential artists under 40

3. Bonus: digital art and NFTs

Pioneers of digital art to the new creators of AI

A return to sobriety two years after the bubble

4. Top 500 Contemporary artists

5. Top 100 Ultra-Contemporary artists