The gallery market is measured by uncertainty

Francesca Simondi, titolare di Simondi Gallery

"After a net decrease between 2023 and 2024, the situation has gradually stabilised, but without any real recovery; turnover is therefore decreasing; a significant element of the last two years has also been the sharp increase in operating costs, which has significantly affected the overall economic sustainability, squeezing margins even further.

Nicolò Fano titolare di Màteria

Different, but no less cautious, is the interpretation of Nicolò Fano owner of Màteria, Rome, according to whom the 2025 figures confirm the stabilisation "of the imbalances of a complicated period. Successfully overcoming such a difficult phase, for galleries like ours, is a positive sign and confirms a strategy that sees gradual growth as the antidote to an era marked by uncertainty'. Based on the trend at the end of 2025, the gallery closed with a growth in turnover, while maintaining a cautious approach in its forecasts.

Matthew Noble, titolare di ArtNoble Gallery (Photo credit Michela Pedranti)

For Matthew Noble, owner of ArtNoble Gallery in Milan, the balance of 2025 was positive with a slight increase in turnover, "especially considering the emerging nature of the gallery and the artists represented," explained the young gallery owner. The main difficulty, as already indicated by other colleagues, was the uncertainty of the market, "this climate has made collectors more cautious and less inclined to invest, especially in the segment of first market works, which tends to be more affected by phases of economic and geopolitical instability". Making forecasts always remains complex - it's a bit of a 'jackpot'," Matthew Noble continues, "but we are forecasting growth and are working on a more structured business model that, if the environment allows, should lead us to an increase in turnover during 2026.

Dario Bonetta di A+B gallery (Photo courtesy Alberto Petrò)

The year 2025 closed with results that were overall better than expected for A+B Gallery in Brescia, although it confirmed a still complex picture. "The year," explains gallery owner Dario Bonetta, "was in fact characterised by a new phase of contraction and the need for further capital injections into the business; the 2025 turnover dropped by approximately 20 per cent. For 2026, the objectives are to recover losses, resolve outstanding situations, and consolidate the positioning achieved, while aiming for moderate development in foreign markets'.

A transversal theme that emerged from the survey concerns the role of art fairs, which are increasingly expensive and, in many cases, difficult to sustain. The balance between participation costs and commercial results often appears unbalanced, calling into question a model that risks becoming structurally unsustainable, opening up the need for in-depth reflection on its future.

According to Davide Mazzoleni: "trade fairs remain central, but with a different meaning compared to the past: no longer just places for immediate transactions, but platforms for relations, positioning and project dissemination. In line with what is observed in international collecting, fairs are used to increase visibility and the catchment area, also through greater attention to the quality of the proposal. With this in mind, we will continue a strategy of optimising our trade fair and exhibition presence, with an increasingly targeted dialogue with collectors, both in Italy and abroad, particularly in the East".

More critical is the position of Raffaella Cortese, who emphasises: "how the costs of participating in fairs are steadily increasing, while margins have progressively decreased, to the point where the gallery is left with an average of 15-20 per cent. In 2025, fairs nevertheless represented an important opportunity to make contact with new collectors from different geographical contexts, in particular from Asia'.

The Màteria gallery in Rome has chosen to adopt a more selective strategy: not being able to sustain a high number of appointments, the focus has been on fairs that over time have demonstrated consistency, curatorial quality and care for exhibitors, balancing the presence between Italy and abroad with approximately two national and two international fairs per year. The stand-sharing experience - started by the gallerist at Art Düsseldorf with the A+B gallery in Brescia - was further expanded thanks to a particularly positive collaboration at Paris Photo with Large Glass (London). Looking ahead to 2026, Fano explains: "this collaborative attitude is destined to strengthen further and the sharing of a stand in the Main Section of Arte Fiera Bologna with the Monitor gallery (Rome, Lisbon), with whom a collaboration is also active in Rome, has already been announced. This will continue at Art Brussels, in the Discovery section, where a curatorial dialogue project between Thomas Braida (Monitor's artist) and Francisca Valador will be presented".

Each gallery searches for its own spaces and finds different strategies to make ends meet, always guaranteeing a high offer to collectors and a highly collaborative relationship with international colleagues.