Contemporary Art: the most sought-after types of works

Contemporary art now holds an important place within the contemporary art market. According to widely recognized reports such as Artprice or Art Basel & UBS, this market remains highly active, with steady demand and a growing interest among art collectors.

The market is now increasingly structured around more quality-driven criteria: the coherence of an artist’s career, institutional recognition (exhibitions, galleries, institutions), the rarity of works, and the guidance provided to collectors in their choices. As a result, we see a more thoughtful approach to collecting contemporary art, with the aim of building a collection for the long term.

In this context, a contemporary art gallery plays an essential role. Galleries support collectors in discovering artists, help them navigate across different mediums—painting, photography, works on paper, design, or digital art—and guide them through the process of buying contemporary artworks in a safer and more coherent way.

Contemporary painting: a reliable cornerstone

Even as artistic practices diversify, painting remains one of the most sought-after mediums among art collectors. It retains strong symbolic value and often occupies a central place in a collection. This is also reflected in the contemporary art market, where paintings are highly present in international sales and continue to attract buyers’ attention.

Collectors tend to focus on works that reflect current movements, such as abstraction and contemporary figurative art, as well as on artists whose visual universe is instantly recognizable.

For instance, within figurative painting, Amoako Boafo is highly sought after for his powerful, recognizable portraits. By contrast, Jade Fadojutimi is more closely associated with contemporary abstraction, with a painting style that is dynamic, expressive, and complex. Finally, Peter Doig is generally considered a mostly figurative painter, known for his atmospheric scenes at the boundary between reality and imagination.

Photography and works on paper: rising demand

Long seen as a more accessible segment, photography has become a fully recognized medium in contemporary art. Within the contemporary art market, collectors often prioritize characteristics that increase value and confidence at the time of purchase: signed prints, limited editions (often numbered), and works with clear provenance. Rarity also plays a key role: a print with limited distribution, or a work that is difficult to find on the market, can become more attractive over time.

In the same spirit, works on paper (drawings, prints, watercolors) are drawing an increasingly broad audience. They often provide an entry point into collecting contemporary art with more flexible budgets, while still acquiring strong pieces that remain coherent with an artist’s practice.

20th-century design and hybrid objects: between art and collecting

The contemporary art market is no longer limited to wall-based works. There is also growing interest in 20th-century design, especially furniture and objects signed by recognized designers, which are now collected in the same way as certain artworks.

Collectors are drawn to these pieces for several reasons: their rarity (some editions becoming difficult to find), their condition (which directly affects value), and their visual presence in an interior. Beyond aesthetics, they are also sought after for their heritage value: the designer’s signature, craftsmanship quality, provenance, and historical importance in the history of design.

This trend reflects a clear shift: collectors increasingly gravitate toward objects at the intersection of use and creation. Design becomes, in this way, a true field for collecting contemporary art.

NFTs and digital art: expanding formats

The arrival of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) marked an important step in the evolution of the contemporary art market, introducing a new way to create, distribute, and buy digital artworks. While this segment has evolved, digital art has established itself for the long term and continues to attract certain collectors, especially those interested in innovation and new uses.

Collectors drawn to these formats primarily seek works that explore new mediums. Blockchain certification also plays an important role, as it helps guarantee authenticity and ensures traceability, particularly regarding provenance and sales history. In addition, these collectors are interested in hybrid creations that may combine image, animation, sound, and even interaction, offering a different experience for the viewer.

This evolution shows that contemporary creation is no longer limited to “classic” formats such as painting or sculpture: the digital has become firmly established and is now part of recognized artistic practices—both among certain collectors and market players.

Conclusion

In conclusion, today’s contemporary art market stands out for its diversity and the evolving ways people collect. While contemporary painting remains a reference point and continues to hold a central place in collections, other mediums such as photography, works on paper, 20th-century design, and digital art are attracting growing interest among art collectors.

As a result, buying contemporary art today means navigating between different formats and artistic practices, while considering the quality of works, their provenance, and their place within an artist’s career. This dynamism confirms that contemporary art is a market in constant evolution, capable of adapting to the cultural, aesthetic, and technological challenges of its time.