Art market trends to watch in 2026 for galleries

The continued strength of figurative painting and its commercial implications

Figurative painting has enjoyed a sustained resurgence over several seasons. Galleries that invested in figurative artists — whether portraiture, interior scenes, landscapes or narrative compositions — have seen their revenues stabilise or grow against an uncertain backdrop. Auction results confirm this trend: at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips, contemporary figurative artists occupy a growing share of evening sales long dominated by abstraction and conceptual art.

This phenomenon has direct implications for gallery programming. A dealer representing artists working in a figurative vein enjoys an immediate commercial advantage, as figuration remains the most accessible medium for beginning collectors. The legibility of a portrait or a scene allows an initial emotional connection with the work that facilitates the purchasing decision. However, the dealer must be careful not to reduce selection to a criterion of fashion. The quality of the artistic statement, the singularity of vision and the coherence of the artist's trajectory remain the only lasting selection criteria.

The rise of Asian and Middle Eastern collectors

The geography of collecting is shifting east and south. Collectors from Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Jakarta, Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah represent a growing share of purchases at international fairs. Art Basel Hong Kong, Frieze Seoul, Art SG in Singapore and Art Dubai all reflect this redistribution. Frieze Seoul, launched in 2022, attracted galleries from around the world and collectors not necessarily present in the European or American circuits from its very first edition.

For the European dealer, this trend requires strategic adaptation. Participating in Asian or Middle Eastern fairs represents a significant investment, but the returns in terms of new clientele are meaningful. Galleries such as Perrotin, Thaddaeus Ropac and Continua have opened spaces in Asia not as a symbolic gesture but as a response to structural demand. The smaller dealer, unable to open a space in Seoul or Dubai, can nonetheless build relationships with art advisors active in those regions, participate in emerging fair programmes in these geographies, or use digital platforms such as Artedusa to make their programme visible to these collectors without requiring a permanent physical presence.

Price transparency is becoming an expected norm

The art market has long cultivated opacity around prices. Galleries did not communicate their tariffs, sales were negotiated privately, and novice collectors often found themselves helpless before a system that seemed designed to discourage them. That era is drawing to a close. Online sales platforms, public auction result databases and the expectations of a new generation of collectors accustomed to transparency in all their purchases are pushing galleries towards greater openness.

Galleries such as David Zwirner and Hauser and Wirth have taken the lead by displaying price ranges on their online platforms. Other galleries are gradually following suit. A dealer who refuses to communicate prices is forfeiting a growing clientele that views this opacity as a signal of exclusion rather than prestige. Transparency does not mean the disappearance of negotiation, which remains a cultural element of the art market. It means the collector has access to basic information enabling them to know whether they are in the right range before engaging in conversation.

The rise of intermediate-format works

Contemporary housing constraints — smaller apartments in major cities, more fluid living spaces, increased residential mobility — are altering the formats collectors seek. Very large formats, requiring a four-metre wall and a three-metre ceiling, are becoming harder to place. Small formats, long considered minor works, are enjoying renewed interest among young collectors. But it is above all the intermediate format — between sixty centimetres and one hundred and fifty centimetres — that is emerging as the most versatile and sought-after size.

Dealers can capitalise on this trend by encouraging their artists to produce across a diversified range of formats without sacrificing artistic ambition. Galerie Almine Rech has demonstrated that an exhibition can mix very different formats without losing coherence, and that intermediate formats enable galleries to reach collectors who would not have taken the plunge for a monumental work. The format question is not trivial: it conditions the financial accessibility of the work (a smaller format is generally less expensive), its transportability and its capacity to find a place in a contemporary interior.

Sustainability as a collector selection criterion

Collectors in 2026, particularly those under forty-five, are increasingly integrating environmental and ethical criteria into their purchasing decisions. Material provenance, carbon footprint of transport, production conditions of works and the artist's social engagement are becoming decision factors that complement traditional aesthetic and speculative criteria.

For the dealer, this evolution requires the ability to answer questions that collectors were not asking a decade ago. What type of paint does the artist use? Do the canvases come from responsible sources? How are works packed and shipped? What is the gallery's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint? Galleries that have adopted eco-responsible practices — such as Galerie Jousse Entreprise in Paris, which has rethought its packing and shipping methods — possess a differentiating argument for this sensitised clientele. This is not a passing fad but a deep trend that will only intensify in the years ahead.

Mid-sized fairs are gaining relevance

The art fair landscape is rebalancing. Mega-fairs — Art Basel, Frieze, FIAC now Paris Plus — remain essential appointments, but their access cost (between twenty thousand and one hundred thousand euros for a booth) and the fatigue they generate among collectors are opening space for mid-sized fairs. Drawing Now in Paris, Artissima in Turin, LOOP in Barcelona, Volta and Cosmoscow offer galleries a frequently better cost-to-quality ratio and more sustained visitor attention.

In 2026, the dealer has every interest in building a diversified fair calendar rather than concentrating their budget on one or two mega-fairs. The proliferation of niche fairs — dedicated to drawing, photography, prints or design — enables dealers to reach specialist collectors who do not necessarily attend the major generalist fairs. This diversification strategy, combined with a permanent online presence on platforms such as Artedusa, offers broader and more resilient commercial coverage.

The gallery-collector relationship is becoming more personal

The final structural trend of 2026 concerns the very nature of the relationship between the dealer and their collector. The collector of 2026 expects a personalised service from their dealer that extends well beyond simply making works available. They wish to be advised, accompanied in building their collection, informed in advance of new availability, invited to exclusive events and treated as a partner rather than a customer.

Galleries investing in client relationship management — personalised follow-up, targeted communications, private viewings, hanging and conservation advice — retain a clientele that might otherwise be tempted by auction houses or by purchasing directly from artists. Galerie Kamel Mennour exemplifies this approach through individualised collector follow-up that transforms each purchase into a step in building a lasting relationship. For galleries on Artedusa, the platform provides collector engagement tools that extend this personalised relationship into the digital space, making the gallery programme visible and accessible at all times.