Filipino curator warns of a reckoning in the art market

“We’ve known this was coming since 2022,” she wrote, referring to what she called the art world’s “hyper-speculation bull run.”

Alcantara traced the phenomenon to a period when art became increasingly viewed as an investment asset rather than a cultural pursuit. During the boom, galleries flourished, art fairs multiplied, and collecting became fashionable among a new generation of buyers eager to participate in the market.

But according to the curator, the industry is now facing the consequences of that rapid expansion.

Citing reports of international galleries such as Pace Gallery downsizing and earlier restructuring efforts by major players including Blum & Poe, Alcantara suggested that the global art ecosystem is entering a period of correction.

She also referenced a widely shared statement from London-based gallery Unit London: “People aren’t tired of art. They’re tired of how the art world works.”

For Alcantara, the quote captures growing frustrations with an industry that, in some circles, became driven by hype and speculation.

“Collectors are starting to catch on,” she noted, observing that younger buyers are becoming more selective and increasingly willing to question inflated valuations and market trends.

The curator pointed out that the art market has weathered similar crises before, including the Japanese asset bubble of the late 1980s, the 2008 global financial crisis, and China’s art market slowdown. Yet she believes the current situation feels different because of the role social media played in accelerating speculation on a global scale.

Locally, Alcantara said the effects are already becoming visible as galleries tighten operations, reduce expenses, relocate from expensive commercial spaces, or quietly reassess their business models.

Despite the challenges, she emphasized that the art world has always been sustained by people driven by passion rather than profit.

Quoting art market journalist Georgina Adam, Alcantara recalled a lesson that has stayed with her for years: those who survive the art market’s cyclical crashes are often the ones who love art enough to endure the hardships that come with it.

“In many ways, we’re all starving artists,” she wrote.

Her post has since resonated with artists, curators, collectors, and gallery owners, opening a rare public discussion about the realities facing the art market after one of its most dramatic boom periods in recent memory.

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