The recent cycle of fiere and aste of art that enlivened Londra and Parigi over the course of two weeks in October 2025 marked a turning point for the international art market and in this article, we will discuss the trends that are emerging.
After months of uncertainty and caution, the sector finally seems to regain vitality, while maintaining an approach focused on safety and institutional recognition.
Collectors, in fact, prefer works that evoke art history and enjoy a solid reputation, rather than venturing into risky experiments. However, sales have affected all categories, bringing a breath of fresh air to a sector that has been severely tested in recent years.
Frieze and Art Basel: Between Big Names and New Discoveries
London: Frieze and the Centrality of Emerging Artists
In London, the fairs Frieze have given space to less known artists, while recording the highest price for a work created by two giants of the twentieth century: “Highest Crossing” (1984), a collaborative painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, sold for 6 million dollars by the Vito Schnabel Gallery.
The work, which combines calligraphy, erased words, and the figure of an alligator, represents an example of how the history of art continues to exert a strong appeal on collectors.
Paris: Record Prices and the Influence of Richter
In Paris, however, individual prices were even higher, both at auctions and at Art Basel Paris. Here the highlight sale was a yellowish abstraction by Gerhard Richter from 1987, two meters high and offered by Hauser & Wirth for 23 million dollars.
The presence of various works by Richter at the fair coincided with the retrospective dedicated to the artist by the Fondation Louis Vuitton, confirming his status as a reference for the market.
New Trends and Collector Profiles
Data and Numbers: Who Buys Art Today?
According to a survey conducted on 3,100 collectors globally by Clare McAndrew for Art Basel and UBS, the median spending on art in 2024 stands at 24,000 dollars, while the average, influenced by the big Chinese buyers and the baby boomer generation, reaches 438,990 dollars.
The survey, which involved more women and young people compared to the past, highlights a diversification of tastes and a growing openness towards new trends, many of which emerged during the London and Paris season.
Surrealism and Imaginary Landscapes: Art as an Escape
In uncertain times, the desire for escape through art grows. Contemporary artists, often more accessible compared to their predecessors of the twentieth century, are winning over the public with imaginary and symbolist landscapes, protagonists of numerous stands at the fairs of October 2025.
Among these stand out the luminous and structured forms of the Swiss Nicolas Party — the protagonist of a sold-out exhibition at Hauser & Wirth in London — and the fairy-tale and detailed forests of the British Georg Wilson.
His work “Strange Pastoral” (2025), part of a series on display at Jupiter Artland in Edinburgh, was quickly sold by Pilar Corrias at Art Basel Paris. Even imaginary landscapes by Sholto Blissett and Pierre Knop found buyers with ease.
The Charm of the North and the Rediscovery of the Mystic
The Nordic and mystical art of the collection of the Danish entrepreneur Ole Faarup has been successful at Christie’s, while the dreamlike visions of Peter Doig — currently in a solo exhibition at the Serpentine — have represented the highlights of the London auctions.
According to Pilar Corrias, collectors are increasingly attracted to imaginary landscapes as spaces of escape and reflection, alternatives to the narratives of expansion and exploitation.
Outsider Art: Art Outside the Canon
The art produced by self-taught and indigenous artists today represents the most experimental frontier allowed by the market. At Frieze Masters, the Gallery of Everything sold out the works of Madge Gill, selling one each to the Tate Collection and the National Portrait Gallery in London. Gill, a self-taught artist who lived between 1882 and 1961, began drawing believing she was guided by a spirit.
His works, often self-portraits signed with the name of his spirit guide Myrninerest, are intricate and obsessive, expression of a spirituality that, according to the gallerist James Brett, is returning to interest the public in an era dominated by technology.
Photography: The Return of Analog
Art Market Data and New Trends 2025
The season has seen a renewed interest in analog photography. Pace Gallery dedicated its stand at Frieze Masters to the American photographer Peter Hujar, selling six works between 25,000 and 45,000 dollars already on the opening day.
At Art Basel Paris, the compositions of Jacopo Benassi, framed in raw wood and enriched with elements like leather straps, were quickly sold between 7,500 and 12,000 euros through Mai 36 Galerie.
According to the Art Basel and UBS survey, 44% of respondents purchased a photograph between 2024 and 2025, compared to 16% in 2023. Women spent on average more than double what men did on photography ($65,000 versus $30,000), while buyers under 60 years old allocated 14% of their spending to purchasing photographs, compared to 3% of baby boomers.
Digital Art: Present but Not Protagonist
Despite the growing favor for digital art revealed by the survey, its presence at major fairs has been marginal. An exception is the hypnotic installation of black and white waves by the Japanese collective teamLab, presented by Pace at Art Basel Paris.
Old Masters: The Return of the Classic
Rubens and the Dialogue between Past and Present
The classic returns to the spotlight. The gallery Gagosian broke the rule of Art Basel Paris — which only allows works post-1900 — by exhibiting a sacred scene by Peter Paul Rubens (1611-14). The choice was justified by the fact that many contemporary artists draw inspiration from the great masters of the past. Next to the Rubens, Gagosian displayed a new work by John Currin and, opposite, one of the famous “gazing ball” by Jeff Koons, a blue reflective sphere placed in front of a replica of a painting by Nicolas Poussin.
The old masters remain very expensive — the price of the Rubens, not disclosed, is probably around 7.1 million dollars, a figure reached at auction in 2020 — but the new collectors seem less intimidated by these valuations compared to those, often more opaque, of contemporary art.
As Bernie Lagrange, director of Gagosian Art Advisory, points out, knowing the biography and historical weight of an artist makes the work more accessible and rich in meaning.
Art market 2025: the new trends
The art market is experiencing a phase of renewal and adaptation. Among the return to the classics, new trends, and an increasingly young and diverse audience of collectors, London and Paris are confirmed as epicenters of a vibrant art scene, where the search for security coexists with the desire for escape and experimentation.
As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
