New York, New Work, Same Questions
Against a backdrop of global uncertainty, New York’s May art season offered a telling snapshot of a market recalibrating—where strong sales, institutional momentum, and emerging voices shared the stage.
This May, New York once again became the art world’s staging ground—not just for new work, but for reading the market’s mixed signals in real time. From Met Monday to the influx of art fairs, dozens of gallery openings, and the spring marquee auctions—the art world congregated on the island to experience a whirlwind of events and exhibitions. New York Art Week, or perhaps better titled New York Art Month, unfolded at a quite pivotal period for the art ecosystem. Despite a slight 3% pick-up in overall transactions since 2024, the global art market faced its second consecutive year of a sales downturn, with a decline of 12% from 2024 to an estimated $57.5 billion, according to The Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report 2025. The high end of the market continues to thin especially as sales increasingly focus on lower-priced, more affordable segments. The report attributes the industry’s continued headwinds and buyer trepidation to ongoing political and economic uncertainties. Just weeks after the publishing of the report, the global art world kept one eye attuned to the transactions unfolding throughout the previous weeks as a litmus test for this year’s market.
Akin to previous years, Frieze New York remained the focal point for many as it returned to the city for its thirteenth edition. Held in an architectural wonder itself, The Shed in Hudson Yards, houses various creative disciplines under one (adjustable) roof. For 2025, Frieze returned to The Shed to exhibit more than 70 leading contemporary art galleries and the fair’s Focus section, dedicated to showcasing emerging talent. Gallery heavyweights including Gagosian, David Zwirner, Pace, Hauser & Wirth, Perrotin and New York-based galleries such as Casey Kaplan and Karma were present and attracted heavy foot traffic as reports from exhibitors noted a steady stream of attendance throughout all five days of the fair.
Exterior view of The Shed, 2025. Courtesy: Frieze and CKA. Photography: Casey Kelbaugh.
Booths of note included Gagosian with a solo exhibition by Jeff Koons; the presentation featured a trio of ‘Hulk Elvis’ sculptures positioned against a comic-book backdrop adapted from Koon’s Triple Hulk Elvis III (2007) generated significant in-person and online buzz. Casey Kaplan presented New York-based artist Hannah Levy’s spidery, visceral sculptures with Untitled (2025) as the booth’s centrepiece. Perrotin featured a solo exhibition with French-born, Los Angeles-based artist, Claire Tabouret, who recently earned headlines when the French Ministry of Culture selected the painter to design new contemporary stained-glass windows for the newly renovated Notre Dame Cathedral in France. Tabouret presented seven portraits exploring sleep and memory which sold out on VIP Day. Mendes Wood DM presented works by a selection of artists from the gallery’s roster including Kishio Suga, Sonia Gomes, Eunnam Hong, Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato, Paulo Nimer Pjota, and Antonio Obá featuring a collection of sculptural works, paintings, and textiles. Kishio Suga’s Sliced Stones (2018) featured eight sliced granite boulders that drew viewers in; the work was acquired by an unnamed institution on VIP Day.
Kishio Suga, Sliced Stones, 2018. Courtesy: the artist and Mendes Wood DM. Photography: EstudioEmObra.
Frieze exhibitors reported early sales across categories, from emerging to blue-chip. Notable sales were led by one of Koon’s Hulk Elvis sculptures, which reportedly sold for some $3 million at Gagosian. White Cube also reported strong sales led by a Tracey Emin painting for $1.59 million and a bronze for $106.4K, a piece by Etel Adnan for $180K, two Antony Gormerly sculptures for $432,250, among others. Pace Gallery reportedly placed all six of its Adam Pendleton pieces, prices between $165K and $425K. As mentioned previously, Perrotin sold out its booth of Claire Tabouret paintings, prices ranging from $65K to $200K. Hauser & Wirth reportedly sold more than two dozen works, with prices ranging from $20K to $1.2 million, with a notable $1.2 million sale for a work by Rashid Johnson, who currently has a major solo exhibition, Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers, at the Guggenheim in New York. Beyond the fair itself, Frieze recently earned headlines afters news broke of its acquisition by an Ari Emanuel-led venture, formerly Endeavor’s CEO, for around $200 million. As far as fairs go, these strong initial sales reveal solid buyer confidence and an appetite for museum-grade work.
Claire Tabouret, Mattea, the bobcat, and the snake, 2025. Courtesy: the artist and Perrotin. Photography: Marten Elder.
A few blocks south, the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) returned for its eleventh New York edition, bringing a fresh wave of discovery energy to Chelsea’s Starrett-Lehigh Building. Known for platforming the next generation of artists and galleries, NADA once again offered a compelling counterpoint to the blue-chip narrative playing out uptown. With over 110 participating from more than a dozen countries—54 of them first-timers—the fair felt as international as it was intimate. NADA’s Curated Spotlight focused on galleries from Texas and Mexico, unpacking this year’s theme of ‘ritual, perception, and resistance,’ while the NADA Presents program offered a rich schedule of talks, performances, and off-site happenings that reinforced the fair’s role as a vital think tank for the next wave of contemporary practice.
Early sales trickled in steadily, suggesting strong demand across the fair’s characteristically accessible price points. London-based galleries Alice Amati and Chilli Projects both reported sold-out solo booths of Danielle Fretwell and Christopher Paul Jordan, respectively. New York’s Kates-Ferri Project placed two conceptual works by Uruguayan artist Guillermo Garcia Cruz during preview, while Jessamine’s presentation of Ren Light Pan drew consistent foot traffic and praise for its exploration of texture and personal mythology.
Overall, NADA’s accessible pricing (with works ranging from under $500 to six figures) created an inclusive atmosphere, inviting both seasoned collectors and first-time buyers to explore, and offering a rare opportunity for young collectors to step into the market without a trophy-hunting mindset. As the broader art world continues to navigate a period of cautious recalibration, NADA’s showing suggests that the lower-to-mid market may be its most vital and responsive segment. With strong attendance, accessible pricing, and a focus on cross-cultural conversation, NADA 2025 delivered on its promise as a fair where discovery remains the main currency.
Collection of works by Ren Light Pan, exhibited by Jessamine, at NADA 2025. Courtesy: the artist and Jessamine. Photography: Jillian Goss-Holmes
Further uptown, the Park Avenue Armory once again played host to The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) New York, now in its eleventh edition following its main edition in Maastricht. Long celebrated as an established market in old masters, antiquities, and museum-grade objects, TEFAF this year embraced a visible shift, slowly but surely expanding its embrace of contemporary work. This year’s fair welcomed galleries like Marianne Boesky, Almine Rech, Lisson, and David Zwirner, offering a glimpse into a more modern-facing future while maintaining its signature curatorial rigor.
Despite the broader market’s ongoing correction, TEFAF held its ground with a strong showing. The fair saw robust foot traffic and early sales momentum across categories. Among the highlights: Bridget Riley’s Reverse reportedly sold for upwards of $7 million, while a Ruth Asawa sculpture fetched $2.8 million at David Zwirner. Almine Rech sold a Günther Förg painting for approximately $1.5 million, and White Cube placed a Calder mobile for $1.1 million. Institutional interest remained steady, with several works reportedly acquired by museums on or shortly after VIP Day. Attendance figures reflected the fair’s enduring pull, with a reported 50% uptick in VIP preview turnout compared to 2022—perhaps a sign that collectors and institutions alike are leaning into quality and historical resonance during a moment of market recalibration. While the global numbers paint a cautious picture, TEFAF’s performance suggests that for the right material, demand remains deeply intact.
View of TEFAF 2025. Photography: Jillian Goss-Holmes.
Rounding out the constellation of spring fairs, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Independent, and Future Fair each brought their own distinct tone to New York’s increasingly varied art landscape. 1-54 returned to Manhattan with a tightly curated selection of galleries spotlighting artists from Africa and the African diaspora. The fair’s thoughtful presentations and intimate scale allowed for deeper engagement with work that often straddled the personal and political. Independent, housed in Tribeca’s Spring Studios, once again blurred the lines between fair and exhibition, favouring solo and duo presentations with a museum-quality finish. Meanwhile, Future Fair, firmly rooted in its role as a collaborative, community-forward platform, returned to Chelsea with a fresh cohort of young and mid-sized galleries. With its profit-sharing model, Future Fair continued to challenge traditional fair structures while offering fertile ground for new voices to emerge. Together, these fairs complemented the major-market energy of Frieze and TEFAF with programming that encouraged experimentation and regional narratives—underscoring New York’s ability to host both the established and the innovative edge.
Collection of works by Gabi Dunayski, exhibited by Zepster Gallery, at Future 2025. Courtesy: the artist and Zepster Gallery. Photography: Jillian Goss-Holmes.
In addition to the half dozen art fairs, a flurry of gallery openings lit up the city, making May feel more like a citywide biennial than a conventional art week. Gagosian opened not one but two museum-grade exhibitions: a focused exploration of Willem de Kooning in Chelsea and Picasso: Tête-à-tête uptown, a dialogue of portraits spanning decades. Lisson debuted a rare presentation of works by Carmen Herrera, Pace Prints offered a curated suite of Jean Dubuffet prints, while David Zwirner’s Upper East Side townhouse showcased a meditative solo by Yu Nishimura. Downtown, Mendes Wood DM unveiled a new series by Rosana Paulino in Soho, while Hanna Traore Gallery presented Jose Duran's intimate textile works on the Lower East Side. With Chelsea, the Upper East Side, and Downtown all alive with openings, it was a week where no neighbourhood went untouched and every subway stop offered a chance to see something thought-provoking.
Thaddeus Mosley, Proximity, 2025. Courtesy: the artist and KARMA. Photography: Jillian Goss-Holmes.
Just as the art fairs came to a head, New York’s auction houses moved to dominate the headlines. Although The Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report 2025 reported public auctions sales fell by 25% year-over-year, private sales by auction houses countered this trend with an increased 14% to $4.4 billion. Mirroring dealer sales trends, the high end of the market was most significantly impacted in auction sales as the value and volume of sales in $10 million-plus categories declined. Despite the overcast economic forecast, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Phillips, and Bonhams held their marquee spring sales of modern and contemporary art and Old Masters with various prized collections coming to lot. For more information on how the auctions faired, see MADE IN BED’s recently published article: ‘Confidence with Conditions: Guarantees, Institutions, and Cautious Optimism Drive New York’s May Sales.’
As New York Art Month came to a close, the mood across galleries, fairs, and auction houses suggested a cautious recalibration rather than a roaring rebound. The American appetite remains despite the market’s upper echelons thinning in recent years. Still, the city’s magnetism proved undimmed: collectors showed up, deals were made, and emerging voices found space alongside blue-chip heavyweights. In a moment marked by global uncertainty, New York offered what it always does best: a pulse check not just on what’s selling, but on what’s shifting.
Jillian Goss-Holmes
Contributing Writer, MADE IN BED
Sources
[1] Art Basel & UBS. The Art Market 2025. UBS Global. https://www.ubs.com/global/en/our-firm/art/art-market-insights/download-market-report-2025.html
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