6 art dealers where the secondary market is going in 2024

Last year was amazing for the secondary market. Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips—the broad public barometers of market performance—reported a decline in sales for 2023, characterized by persistent economic uncertainty.

In 2024, there are more rumors of positivity. Although economic growth is expected to slow and geopolitical tensions remain, falling inflation and widespread forecasts of lower interest rates are providing reasons for optimism, a sentiment reflected by positive stock market noise of late.

Three months into 2024, data collected by secondary market dealers—spanning from London to Hong Kong—paints a nuanced picture. On the one hand, there is a clear gravitation among long-time collectors towards established artists and high-value works of art, seen as stable investments in uncertain times. Conversely, a younger, digitally savvy demographic is emerging, seeking out new talent and driving up prices and waiting lists for in-demand artists.

Overall, the dealers Artsy spoke to emphasized the art market’s resilience and ability to rejuvenate, noting that this recovery requires innovation in galleries and gallerists. “The art market is rapidly adapting to attract a younger audience… This shift in taste requires new roles and skills, especially in digital marketing, online sales and customer engagement,” said John Russo, CEO of Maddox Gallery.

Here, we hear from six art dealers about the trajectory of the secondary market in 2024.

Maddox Gallery CEO John Russo has noticed a wider divide between new and established collectors. The London gallery, which opened its flagship space in 2015, often bridges these collector bases. It features works by blue-chip artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, alongside rising names such as Ross Muir and Cooper.

“Established investors prefer well-known artists and high-value artworks, which they perceive as a more stable investment in uncertain times,” Russo told Artsy. On the other hand, he shared that younger collectors with a higher risk tolerance focus on emerging artists like Duncan McCormick and Albert Willem.

“The art market is quickly adapting to attract a younger audience,” Russo told Artsy. He highlighted Deloitte’s Art and Finance report, which found that 83% of young collectors now see art as a reliable investment, up from 50% last year. Additionally, the report shows that 61% of young collectors are diversifying their portfolios, and more than 50% see art as a hedge against economic uncertainty, demonstrating financial insight. “This change in taste requires new roles and skills, especially in digital marketing, online sales and customer engagement,” he added.

Russo also believes that data is at the forefront of secondary market sales today, allowing sellers and collectors to better understand market fluctuations. “Online databases and auction results facilitate self-regulation, including fair market prices. As a result, they are adjusting their pricing strategies,” he said.

The London dealership sees work from the likes of Jordy Kerwick, Robert Nava, Niall Campbell Strachan and The Connor Brothers keeping the momentum going this year.

“When it comes to trends, we can only notice the genuine interest of collectors in artists who have been around for many years”, says Salomé Limbach-Dumas, founder of the French gallery Dumas Limbach, a staunch French. secondary market for modern, post-war and contemporary art. The gallery runs two spaces in Paris and Saint-Tropez. He listed Pierre Soulages, Jean Michel Pincemin, Claude Viallat, Serge Poliakoff and César Baldaccini as artists with a steady momentum of last year.

“We’ve also noticed a renewed interest in ceramics,” continued Limbach-Dumas. “In particular, our American collectors fell under the spell of the Vallauris school (as Jean Derval and also Roger Capron).”

This year Limbach-Dumas is noticing that the secondary market is becoming more and more international. “We are still very much in touch with European and American collectors, but the link with the Middle East and Asian scene seems to be weakening,” he said. However, he admits that the gallery is looking forward to the Paris Olympics to see if the international event will boost global sales.

For Parisian gallerists, the beginning of this year is witness to the continuation of several previous trends, with collectors hoping to secure pieces by well-known and established artists. Likewise, newcomers to art collecting choose to “start collections with safe values.”

Rupert Worrall, director of London-based RAW Editions, sees early adjustments in the secondary art market amid global economic concerns. A significant change occurred in mid-2023, with sales volume falling but a pivot to higher value transactions emerging. “From the middle of the year, there was a significant decline in sales volume, but at the same time a movement towards sales of higher value works for RAW Editions,” said Worrall. The gallery is a standard for contemporary and post-war editions, featuring works by artists such as Donald Judd and Bridget Riley.

Despite these changes, prices for established artists remained strong, boosted by significant museum exhibitions and increased collector interest in figures such as Ed Ruscha and David Hockney.

“With the UK economy improving and inflation falling, we are positive about this year’s outlook,” Worrall said. “I am sure that the publishing market will remain stable. There will be opportunities to buy for collectors, and in these cases, it is important to consider the rarity and condition of the offer.’

“What we have seen is that there has been a shift in quality: less speculative buying that fueled the art market euphoria of previous years and more focus on personal enjoyment,” said Phil Ooi, founder of The BlackWood Gallery in Hong Kong. The gallery is known for its hands-on approach to secondary market trading, where in recent years the space has offered more advice and educational opportunities to collectors. This shift represents a more discerning approach among collectors, prioritizing the safer value of art over the potential for secondary market artists to gain traction.

That said, Ooi said market momentum is particularly strong for Ming Ying and Artsy Vanguard 2023–2024 students Li Hei Di, both graduates of the Royal College of Art, indicating strong demand and a promising future for these emerging artists. “We love all of her work and think her future is very bright and she’s definitely a name to watch,” he said of Ying.

Following this trend of buying for quality and durability, The BlackWood Gallery is enhancing its consulting services in 2024 to help clients enhance their collections, focusing on guiding collectors through changing tastes and market trends. “Although it has slowed down, collectors have continued to buy through 2023, and demand for artworks has been very strong,” Ooi said.

“The fine art print market remains strong and robust, especially for blue-chip works by prized artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Keith Haring,” Utah-based art dealer Jonathan Freedman told Artsy. The online gallery specializes in these three aforementioned artists, and Freedman emphasizes that works in good condition are extremely rare for such established artists.

A sense of resilience underpins Freedman’s approach to the secondary market, where these blue-chip artists maintain their relevance among collectors young and old in the face of economic ups and downs. “Part of Andy Warhol’s and Keith Haring’s legacies is their ability to span generations,” Freedman said. “Today’s young collectors enjoy and seek out their work just as collectors do in their lives,” he added.