9 Collectors on the Artists, Shows, and Trends to Watch in 2025

An exciting year awaits art lovers in 2025, marked by blockbuster events ranging from the 16th edition of the Sharjah Biennial in February to the 36th São Paulo Bienal in September. All the while, the art world calendar is dotted with notable fairs, events, openings, and shows, including several major museum exhibitions.

As momentum builds for a busy year ahead, Artsy spoke with nine collectors to see what shows, artists, and trends they’re looking forward to in 2025.

“I’m excited about so much in 2025. In March, the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) will open ‘Louise Nevelson: Dawn to Dusk.’ In addition to a comprehensive survey of Nevelson’s practice, the show will explore the artist’s decades-long relationship [with Columbus] and exhibition history in our city through her friendship with Eva Glimcher (mother of Pace Gallery founder Arne Glimcher), a Columbus resident and the proprietor of Pace Columbus, which mounted at least eight gallery shows from 1965. In addition, the CMA will open an exhibition on J. B. Blunk and Toshiko Takaezu, as well as a site-specific permanent installation at the CMA’s satellite museum space with Tavares Strachan.

“I am also excited about ‘Monuments,’ an ambitious show at MOCA exploring the legacy of confederate memorials and providing an opportunity for contemporary artists, including co-curator Kara Walker, to engage with these fraught and highly charged objects gathered and shown in a decommissioned state and in context with their work.

“I can’t wait to see the new Studio Museum in Harlem, which will open with a comprehensive survey of Tom Lloyd, who was also the subject of the institution’s first exhibition in 1968. I’m also excited to see Rashid Johnson at the Guggenheim, Jack Whitten at MoMA, Dyani White Hawk at the Walker Art Center, and M. Florine Démosthène and Didier William at the Frist Art Museum. I can’t wait to visit what is sure to be an incredible new LACMA and a sublime renovation of the Frick Collection.

“In terms of collecting, I’m excited about so many artists, including (in no particular order): María Berrío, Nicole Eisenman, Naotaka Hiro, Tala Madani, Rita Ackermann, Lynda Benglis, Jadé Fadojutimi, Nick Cave, Christina Quarles, Anna Weyant, Salman Toor, Jenna Gribbon, Lesley Vance, Jenny Saville, Issy Wood, Jennifer Packer, Hilary Pecis, Sayre Gomez, Sasha Gordon, Lucy Bull, Ambera Wellmann, Carol Bove, and Lauren Halsey. I’m excited about a new normal in the art market. Following several years of pandemic stimulus-fueled expansion and then a contraction, it feels like we’ve reached a more balanced equilibrium that will be good for everyone. I’ve also grown quite tired of Instagram and of viewing art on my phone. My resolution for 2025 is to see the show at the gallery.

“Finally, at Orange Barrel Media, we were fortunate to partner with more than 100 artists and institutions in 2024 and are excited to continue this work in 2025—doing our part to help create a new durable funding model for museums and a platform to share artists’ work in a highly public and democratic way.”

“I am looking forward to traveling to many far-off destinations, spiritually and physically. Considering the state of the world, it’s much needed!

“The first month of the year will bring the opening of the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, with the particularly apt theme of ‘All That is in Between.’ I’ll continue with onward journeys across Africa, starting with 1-54 in Marrakech with a brief stopover in Tangier to see Yto Barrada (who will represent France at the Venice Biennale 2026). It’s then to Cape Town to explore the art fair and celebrate Zeitz MOCAA and its incredible director Koyo Kouoh (the curator of the 2026 Venice Biennale).

“All eyes will be on the ‘Global Majority’ world in 2025, and those that epitomize ‘Third Culture Kids’ diaspora and more—where we will see more work by artists like Nour Jaouda, who this past year alone was collected by major institutions such as Tate, Guggenheim, Arts Council England, and the list goes on (this builds on her debut in Adriano Pedrosa’s Venice Biennale main show as its youngest artist). I am also excited to watch Xin Liu’s star on the ascent as the inaugural winner of the K11 Artist Prize, and as the new resident at Delfina Foundation and Somerset House studios.

“The Los Angeles County Museum of Art finally completing the building in April, and the Bukhara Biennial in Uzbekistan in September (curated by Diana Campbell-Betancourt), will be also truly ‘wow’ moments too—from new to the ancient and all that is in between!”

“2025 continues to be a year for the Global South and its ‘transnational’ diaspora. A number of major institutions I’ve spoken to are shaping their collecting and programming strategy around it, and even the best dealers, ranging from Empty Gallery, Miguel Abreu Gallery, and Andrew Kreps Gallery to super-established names like Gladstone Gallery and Marian Goodman Gallery, are signing numerous transnational artists into the program.

“Sculptural practices are also poised to gain momentum again with Mire Lee’s Tate Turbine Hall commission. Artists such as Kim Yun Shin, Li Shuang, and Jes Fan will also be getting more attention!”

“This is a good time to be a genuine collector. The speculative bubble on ultra-contemporary art has burst. Those effects are disheartening. However, I have welcomed the opportunity to be more selective and deliberate in what I acquire and to have access to quality works at reasonable price points.

“I don’t have much on my radar outside of D.C., where I am based. Two exhibitions, however, that I’m excited to see are Adam Pendleton at the Hirshhorn Museum in April and Amy Sherald at the National Portrait Gallery in September.”

“2025 starts with the opening of the Islamic Arts Biennale in Riyadh and the Sharjah Biennial in early February. There will be a lot of attention in this region with many visitors to these two major events and the Dubai Art Fair, which will be in April.

“Thanks to Adriano Pedrosa’s curation of the 2024 Venice Biennale main show, there has been more attention on the great artists, terrific galleries, and institutions in Brazil. I foresee more international guests at SPArte in April, ARPA in May, or at the opening of the 36th edition of the São Paulo Bienal which opens in September just before Art Rio, so international patrons can visit both great art cities.

“I am also looking forward to Georgian artists whom Tbilisi’s Gallery Artbeat introduced us to at NADA Miami and Paris Internationale. Tamo Jugeli is having a show at Karma in L.A. this January, Nika Kutateladze will have a show at Mendes Wood DM, and Nina Kintsurashvili will have a show at Polina Berlin in New York this March.”

“Minimalism and Conceptual Art continue to hold significant relevance, and I expect their influence to grow even stronger this year. I believe there will be a resurgence of interest and demand for works by such artists. In general, I anticipate a shift toward more understated and subtle pieces, offering a contrast to the image overload in our daily lives and the saturation of art in the market.”

“I’m really interested to see the impact art will have on industries like sports, real estate, hospitality, technology, wellness, and fashion. An innovative new company called Work of Art Holdings (WOAH), founded by art world veteran and collector Michi Jigarjian, is leading the way. By integrating art with these industries, WOAH is elevating aesthetics and creating deeper community engagement, inspiring innovation, and leaving a lasting cultural and social impact.

“I also cannot wait for Camille Henrot’s monumental show opening at Hauser & Wirth in New York this month. Her work is incredible, but she’s also so thoughtful and engaged with her community. She recently helped launch a new organization called Artists and Mothers to support emerging and mid-career artists who identify as mothers, a hugely overlooked population, in my opinion.

“I’m thrilled someone is finally acknowledging how prohibitive it can be for a mother to balance the demands of being a mother and having a practice, and I am excited to see the impact this new organization will have on the field.”

“The trend I expect to take off in 2025 is artists creating custom frames for their works. It’s a move that adds a personal touch and elevates the presentation of each piece. Leading the charge here are Karel Dicker, who crafts handmade walnut frames for his paintings, and Jean Nipon, known for his white-painted mahogany frames that beautifully complement his colored pencil works. As a collector, I find these ‘artist’s frames’ almost as captivating as the art itself, and I’m confident we’ll see much more of this in the coming year.

“On the gallery front, three spaces are on my radar for 2025: C L E A R I N G, Kasmin, and the brand-new Megan Mulrooney. C L E A R I N G is hosting Nipon’s first New York solo show in September, which will be the show of Armory Week. Kasmin, known for its blue-chip roster of artists like Jackson Pollock and Robert Motherwell, will instead make waves with emerging artists this year. I’m betting that works by Sara Anstis and Alexis Ralaivao will be among the gallery’s most talked-about of 2025, propelling them into the mainstream.

“And, then, there’s Megan Mulrooney in West Hollywood, which opened just this past September. I’ve been blown away by their programming so far, and they’re set for a banner first full year. I’m particularly excited about Flora Temnouche’s solo show in January and Chechu Álava’s solo show in May, whose work blew me away at EXPO Chicago last year.”