Renewed Momentum: The Global Art Market Enters a New Phase of Growth

After two years of decline, the market rebounded by 4% in 2025 to approximately $59.6bn, marking renewed momentum. This reflects the art market’s long-standing resilience: rather than structural weakness, recent fluctuations appear cyclical.

This aligns with what we have experienced at Hag-Up across both primary placements and secondary market activity. While 2023–2024 required greater selectivity from collectors, 2025 saw a clear return of confidence, particularly for high-quality works with strong provenance and cultural relevance which we saw in artists such as Banksy, Tracey Emin, David Hockney and Damien Hirst.

Top-tier artworks and auction sales led the rebound, with public auction sales rising 9% and strong demand for high-value works. These sales continue to set benchmarks and shape market sentiment.

Demand for blue-chip and culturally significant artists remains robust. We continue to see sustained collector interest in figures such as Banksy and David Hockney, whose works combine market liquidity with enduring cultural significance.

Confidence at this level has a ripple effect. As pricing stabilises and strengthens at the top, it reinforces trust across the broader market, encouraging collectors to re-engage at multiple levels.

Encouragingly, the recovery has not been limited to a single channel. Both dealers and auction houses reported growth, with the dealer sector up 2% and the auction sector up 9%, suggesting a more balanced and sustainable environment.

Additionally, 42% of dealers reported higher sales, and profitability pressures began to ease, which corresponds to what we have seen here at Hang-Up. This points to a healthier ecosystem overall. This broad-based progress is essential for long-term stability, ensuring that growth is not overly concentrated in one segment.

This balance is critical. A healthy market is not driven solely by headline auction results, but by consistent activity across galleries, private sales, and artist-led programmes.

Looking ahead, one of the most significant tailwinds is the generational shift in wealth. The “Great Wealth Transfer” is expected to bring over $80 trillion into the hands of younger collectors over the coming decades.

This shift is already visible in our client base. A new generation of collectors is engaging with art in a more informed and digitally native way, while remaining highly attuned to cultural relevance and authenticity.

At Hang-Up, this aligns closely with our programme, which bridges established names with emerging and mid-career artists such as Kostas Papakostas, offering both access and context for collectors navigating a rapidly evolving market.

The market continues to evolve structurally: more galleries are opening than closing, business models are becoming more agile, and there is increasing representation of historically underrepresented artists.

These changes mirror our own approach. Hang-Up has always focused on artists who shape contemporary visual culture, whether through the street art of Keith Haring, the pop art of Andy Warhol, or the conceptual practices in works by Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst. We continue to see growing recognition and demand in these areas.