Kobel's
Art Weekly

Kobel's Art Weekly 52 2025

Closures, insolvencies and downsizing of galleries and art dealers also characterised the second half of the year. The market appears to be in a phase of consolidation with structural imbalances. Keith Estiler talks in mid-August about the ‘creeping death of the contemporary art gallery’ at Hypebeast: "A significant force behind this change is the shifting demand for different types of art. The once-dominant “blue-chip” artists, masters whose work commanded staggering prices, are no longer the only game in town. Collectors are increasingly turning their attention to “red-chip” artists, a new class of talents whose value is built on viral hype and cultural relevance rather than institutional endorsement. These artists are attractive for two main reasons: their work is often more accessible and affordable, and it brings fresh, diverse cultural perspectives that feel relevant and exciting to a global audience."

Susanne Schreiber's heart beats for the Rhineland, as can be seen from her tour in early Sepztemberof the DC Open for the Handelsblatt: ’The Rhineland is still vibrant today. Newly arrived, ambitious galleries such as Gathering from London, LC Queisser from Tbilisi and Josey from Norwich prove Cologne's unbroken appeal. Düsseldorf was chosen by the Parisian gallery Petrine for its branch on the Rhine, which only opened in April. In both cities, art colleges train the next generation, collectors pass on their passion to the second and third generations, and large museums and institutions provide guidance. Both new and long-established gallery owners feel at home here."

The crisis in the art market is described in figures in the new Artnet Intelligence Report (PDF). In her analysis contained therein, Katya Kazakina paints a bleak picture: "The art world finds itself in a precarious position as it moves towards the second half of 2025. It seems like not a week goes by without a major gallery closing: Blum, Venus Over Manhattan and Kasmin are further prominent victims of the summer. Smaller galleries are discreetly giving up or downsizing. Each case is different, but many lament the same thing: fixed costs are ruining business. Sales are declining. It's no longer fun. Primary prices are unsustainable. Major collectors have stopped buying art or significantly reduced their spending. The next generation is not there to replace the old guard. The art world is bloated, and there is no easy way to cure the malaise." Music producer and art collector Jeff Magid, who has gained enormous reach on Instagram in recent months, suggests in one of his videos that so many critics and journalists have written off the art market because they feel excluded from the world of the rich and beautiful.

The Fed's interest rate cut in the US could bring about a turnaround in the art market, speculates Daniel Cassady at Artnews: "Joshua Greenberg, managing director and private client advisor at Bank of America Private Bank, echoed that view while taking a broader perspective. “It is a signal in terms of the direction of rates,” he told ARTnews. After a modest period of interest rate hikes and stability, “the market has an expectation that a trend of lowering interest rates has started.” That expectation carries psychological weight, which often translates into market movement. In an environment where rates are rising, Greenberg explained, clients may be less likely to put capital into illiquid assets like art. But if they believe rates are headed down, they might feel more comfortable borrowing—especially since art loans are typically floating-rate and interest-only." However, as recent history has shown, such a credit-financed boom could quickly backfire. If interest rates rise again, many positions will suddenly be liquidated and flood a market that is already unable to absorb them.

Scott Reyburn describes the bleak outlook for the art market as a whole in the The Art Newspaper (paywall may apply): "The recent stampede into crypto-, tech- and AI-related stocks might indicate where investors think easy money is to be made. But what about the age-old power of art as a status symbol? Surely that is still a reason why the wealthy should spend at auctions and art fairs? Perhaps some insight into how our algorithm overlords view art can be gleaned by Google's AI Overview of the ultimate status symbols for the wealthy. Listed are items such as private jets, high-end cars, exclusive travel experiences, luxury pet services and even the ‘bookshelf wealth’ of a curated library. Art is not mentioned. [...] There you have it. The trade should concentrate on selling art as status symbols to the richest, brainiest 0.01%, who, as influential neo-reactionary thinkers such as Curtis Yarvin and Nick Land predict, will rule what is left of our world once democracy is eradicated and the so-called Dark Enlightenment prevails. Fortunes could be made selling endorphin-stimulating art to decorate the walls of tech billionaires' post-apocalypse bunkers. Ready for Art Basel Auckland?"

Elisa Carollo asks in The Observer whether flirting with related industries could be a lifeline for art. After reviewing the most notable collaborations in the top segment, she concludes with the crucial consideration: "As surveys and collector profiles have shown, many Gen Z and Millennial buyers who are gradually transitioning into art collecting often begin with other categories of collectibles—sneakers, limited-edition clothing and similar objects. This underscores the potential for the art industry to learn from and adopt some of the business models and storytelling strategies of other high-end, symbolic-value and experience-centred sectors to build and cultivate new, younger audiences. Overlooking these opportunities increasingly looks less like prudence than shortsightedness." The article does not convey any groundbreaking insights, but the challenges of the digital art trade obviously cannot be pointed out often enough.

Colnaghi is also opening a new branch in Saudi Arabia. Melissa Gronlund reports in the Art Newspaper: "Colnaghi, one of the world's oldest surviving art dealerships, will open a space in Riyadh, following a deal struck with the Saudi private equity firm Sarat Investment Holding, worth 10 million Saudi riyals (around £2 million). [...] However, Islamic art and artefacts are a major area of interest for the region's collectors, and Colnaghi is expected to begin selling in that field, according to a local source." This reinforces the trend of following the lure of money to the Gulf, which Glen Lowry, outgoing director of MoMA, has also succumbed to as future advisor to the Islamic Arts Biennale, as Valentina di Liscia critically notes at Hyperallergic.

Artnet's last annual general meeting before its privatisation received surprisingly little coverage in the relevant international media. Only Daniel Cassady refers in early October to my report for the Handelsblatt in Artnews: "Andrew E. Wolff—who holds about 98.93 per cent of Artnet shares, according to boerse.de, and also owns rival platform Artsy—will serve as interim chief executive. Earlier this year, Wolff's Beowolff Capital offered a voluntary public takeover of the company. Jan Petzel, managing director of Wolff's Leonardo Art Holdings, said he was surprised by Pabst's resignation but pleased that the annual meeting went ahead." The media landscape of the art world, the online market and, above all, the commodification of art are likely to change dramatically if the owner of Artnet and Artsy exploits the potential of the interaction between the two companies.

The art world should dare to be a little more Labubu, then it will also work with Gen Z and sales, believes Elisa Carollo from The Observer: "According to recent surveys, the global collectibles market has surpassed £496 billion in 2025. If the art world wants to avoid shrinking in both volume and financial weight as it struggles to broaden its buyer base, then making art more “collectible”—at multiple price points and across different stages of life—may be the only sustainable strategy for cultivating lifelong engagement from the next generation of buyers." This sounds like a call for the lowest common denominator in order to reach as many people as possible. But is it really desirable to fill museums with monumental versions of the merchandising knick-knacks from the museum shop?

Women are the better, or at least more generous, collectors, according to Ursula Scheer's report on the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2025 in the FAZ: "The art trade, which has been severely affected by economic uncertainties and geopolitical crises, can pin its hopes primarily on one group: affluent female art collectors, who make up about half of the people surveyed by Clare McAndrew's team. According to the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting, in 2024 these women's spending on art and antiques was 46 per cent higher than that of men. Female collectors in China are leading the way.‘ The survey also has some less positive news for galleries, according to Daniel Cassady's review in Artnews: ’That fluidity shows up in how art changes hands. In 2024–25, 63 per cent of collectors purchased directly from artists, up from 27 per cent two years earlier and 43 per cent from 2022. Nearly half of all high-net-worth buyers used social media to do so: 43 per cent bought from studios, 37 per cent commissioned works, and 35 per cent purchased via Instagram links. The old hierarchy—dealer first, artist second—is slipping. Sure, galleries remain the most trusted channel overall, but the survey finds that collectors' second-most-preferred route is now direct purchase, a category that's more than doubled in just one year." I read the report for the Handelsblatt.

Hili Perlson examined the role of art in the context of the geopolitical ambitions of Asian states for the taz: ’What drives Uzbekistan to invest so heavily in contemporary art? The landlocked country, rich in natural resources, has money and has been a partner in China's multinational infrastructure programme, the Belt and Road Initiative, since 2015. Two of the main routes run through Uzbekistan, as do all four corridors of the gas pipeline between Central Asia and China. In addition, Uzbekistan is opening up to the global market and is becoming increasingly interesting for European companies. According to the World Bank, Uzbekistan's GDP grew by 6.5 per cent in 2024. However, human rights issues remain in the country – although the art world is not exactly known for its integrity in this regard, with the Art Basel art fair now also moving to Qatar without hesitation. According to a recent report by the NGO Freedom House, Uzbekistan is classified as “not free”.

Shortly before the fair in Luxembourg, Deloitte published its 500-page new Art & Finance Report (PDF download): "Asset managers need to be aware that collectors' expectations of art as an investment are currently changing, especially among NextGen collectors. This group increasingly prioritises values such as identity, legacy and cultural impact when investing in art. In contrast, financial returns are less important for 72 per cent of this generation, and only 52 per cent cite returns as a primary motive (2023: 83%). At the same time, the proportion of collectors who pursue exclusively cultural and emotional motives is rising to new highs. Asset managers should therefore invest more in holistic strategies that, among other things, meet the need for cultural impact investment."

The merger of three already heavyweight players opens up a new dimension for the term ‘mega gallery.’ Pace Di Donna Schrader is the name of the new heavyweight, according to a press release. Robin Pogrebin explains in the New York Times: "PDS is to begin operations early next year, to open its physical space in summer 2026 (in a location that has yet to be determined), and present a historical exhibition next fall (whose subject has not yet been announced). With access to Pace's resources and locations in Los Angeles, London, Geneva, Berlin, Seoul and Tokyo — as well as its New York headquarters — PDS plans to build on Pace's relationships with post-war artists and estates, as well as its history in the market."