Wondering what contemporary art trends will take center stage in 2025?

You’re not alone. For various reasons, many in the art world get curious about what to expect each year.

Whether you are a collector or artist, you may want to stay connected to trending social themes and conversations, evolve your taste or technique, align your collection or artwork with what is in vogue, or simply be in the know.

These are all valid.

However, my gentle reminder to you is that trends should not rule your journey in the art world. They can stifle your creative expression and unknowingly keep you in a box, which is the exact opposite of what your art journey should be.

Instead, prioritize staying true to your likes, values, and identity, whether they align with what is “trending” or not. Trends will come and go, but your individuality is a constant.

Okay, now that we’ve come to an understanding, let’s discuss the anticipated contemporary art trends for 2025!

Key Takeaways

• In 2025, artists will go beyond creating art traditionally exhibited in galleries and museums to creating pieces exhibited outdoors on land where people can easily see and engage with the ideas.

• Biophilic art—art that connects humans to nature through organic colors, shapes, and textures—is winning the hearts of many collectors in 2025 as the desire for eco-friendly and sustainable art grows.

• Large abstract artworks in public and private collections are a contemporary art trend set to thrive in 2025.

• In 2025, art collectors are taking a more thoughtful approach to collecting, focusing less on the hype.

• Artwork by 20th-century and Contemporary African artists is on trend in 2025! More international museums and art institutions are starting to recognize these artists’ importance to the discourse around global modernism.

• Quirky art—art that breaks conventional rules and embraces creative freedom and expression—is a fun contemporary art trend set to dominate 2025.

• In 2025, collectors will increasingly purchase art privately in a more exclusive setting, avoiding the drama and attention that come with public auctions.

• New collectors from the finance and tech sectors will emerge, showing keen interest in learning more about the art market and purchasing art as an investment asset.

• New art hubs and markets will emerge. Cities like Milan, Dubai, and Lagos are becoming big deals in the global art scene.

• The art and video game industries will cross collaborate to tell impactful stories.

• Crafts, natural materials, and handmade items will make a comeback in the art world.

1. Art Meets Land

According to James Voorhies, the Chief Curator at The Bass Miami, in 2025, as we continue to experience climate change and other pressing environmental issues, more artists will begin exploring the concept of land and all that it represents beyond its physicality. 

We will see more art questioning how land is used, occupied, and governed in modern society.

Artists will go beyond creating art traditionally exhibited in galleries and museums to creating pieces exhibited outdoors on land where people can easily see and engage with the ideas. 

They will collaborate with people who deal with land practically every day, such as architects, interior designers, farmers, etc., to craft the pieces meaningfully. This will start conversations and help us think more deeply about how we use our land.

Source: Artsy

2. Biophilic Art for Wellness

Last year, we highlighted environmentally sustainable art as one of the trends shaping the art world in 2024. That trend is not slowing down anytime soon.

Biophilic art—art that connects humans to nature through organic colors, shapes, and textures—is winning the hearts of many collectors in 2025 as the desire for eco-friendly and sustainable art grows.

Artworks with earthy tones, such as browns, greens, and blues, as well as organic textures, like flowing water, clouds, and leaves, will be found in many homes and private collections.

Biophilic artworks are known also to promote grounding and relaxation, evoking feelings of wellness and serenity in the spaces they occupy and serving as an added appeal for collecting them.

Source: Maddox Gallery

3. Big Abstract Pieces Make a Comeback

Large abstract artworks in public and private collections are another contemporary art trend set to thrive in 2025.

After figurative art took over the art world in the last couple of years, it’s nice to see abstract art making its comeback.

Interior designers and collectors are keen on making big statements with the abstract pieces they display in their spaces. Plus, abstracts are easy attention-grabbers and great conversation starters, so having them in your collection will always be a win!

Source: Maddox Gallery

4. Thoughtful Collecting Is In

With the growing number of art galleries, fairs, exhibitions, and auctions each year, in 2025, art collectors are taking a more thoughtful approach to collecting.

Gabriela Palmieri (Founder of Palmieri Fine Art and Former Sotheby’s Chairman of Contemporary art, Americas) says savvy collectors are moving away from collecting solely because a piece is expensive or trendy and shifting toward collecting art they love and care about.

The conversation is changing as people start talking more about the actual art—what it means, how it makes them feel, and why it’s valuable beyond just the price tag.

Source: ARTnews

5. More Demand for African 20th Century & Contemporary Artworks

Artwork by 20th-century and Contemporary African artists is on trend in 2025! Liza Essers (Owner and Director of South Africa’s Goodman Gallery) predicts that more international museums and art institutions will start to recognize the importance of African artists to the discourse around global modernism. 

Artists like William Kentridge and Gerard Sekoto are finally getting the attention they deserve, with their works selling for millions of dollars at auction.

In 2025, artworks by African 20th-century masters will be featured in many prestigious exhibitions. These include the recently opened Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica at the Art Institute of Chicago, the upcoming Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Nigerian Modernism show at Tate Modern in London.

Source: ARTnews

6. Art Rules Get Broken

Quirky art—art that breaks conventional rules and embraces creative freedom and expression—is a fun contemporary art trend set to dominate 2025.

Quirky art celebrates human individuality, allowing for imperfection and playfulness in its creations. Leaders in this art movement include digital art, mixed-media work, and eccentric installations. 

In 2025, quirky art will become more mainstream. We’ll see things like shelves that double as artwork and lights that feel like art pieces. Artists will make more artwork that’s fun to look at and super functional.

Source: Artfully Walls

7. Private Art Sales Take the Front Seat

In 2025, collectors will shift toward purchasing art privately in a more exclusive setting. Phillip Hoffman (CEO and Founder of the Fine Art Group) explains that with auctions taking a nosedive lately, more people will opt for collecting artwork through private sales, avoiding the drama and attention that come with public auctions.

Additionally, most valuable artworks are sold through these private sales, further increasing the desirability of this approach among collectors. 

Until auctions make a full comeback, private sales will be where the most exciting action happens in the art world.

Source: ARTnews

8. New Players, New Collections

An exciting 2025 contemporary art market trend, according to Arushi Kapoor (Los Angeles and Miami-based Art Adviser and Founder of the Agency Art House), is the anticipated growth in the global art collector base. New collectors from the finance and tech sectors will emerge, showing keen interest in learning more about the art market and purchasing art as an investment asset.

These new collectors will likely start with collecting smaller, more affordable pieces, like works on paper or domestic-sized art, as an easy way to get into the game. As they become more confident, they will likely shift their focus to building curated collections with works by famous, established artists (“blue-chip artists”).

Source: ARTnews

9. New Art Hubs & Markets Emerge

New markets and hubs for art emerge every other year, and 2025 is no different.

Gone are the days when the art world revolved around cities like New York, London, or Paris. Cities like Milan, Dubai, and Lagos are stepping up and becoming big deals in the global art scene. 

These cities are steadily building creative ecosystems where artists, galleries, and collectors collaborate and create. They are proving that dope art and cultural movements can happen anywhere, not just in the old-school art capitals.

Source: Aurora & Athena

10. Creativity Cross-Collaborations

As Hans Ulrich Obrist (Artistic Director at Serpentine Galleries in London) speculates, the cross-collaboration between the art and video game industries will be one of the coolest contemporary art trends in 2025.

With over 3 billion gamers worldwide, video games are no longer just for fun—they’re evolving into one of the most essential art mediums of our time. 

Like novels were a big deal in the 19th century or movies in the 20th century, video games are stepping up as one of the central storytelling and creative platforms of today.

Obrist points out that the future of art isn’t just one thing—it’s not all digital or all traditional. It’s about mixing both; video games are the perfect example of that blend.

Source: Artsy

11. More Artists Embrace Crafts, Natural Materials & Handmade

Clare Lilley (Director, Yorkshire Sculpture Park England) and Aindrea Emelife (Curator, Museum of West African Art MOWAA, Lagos and London) both share similar anticipation for the comeback of crafts, natural materials, and handmade items in the art world.

Even in a digital world, people crave personal touch. Artists are taking old-school skills and giving them a modern twist, like Mickalene Thomas’s rhinestone-covered paintings. It’s art you can feel, not just look at.

Source: Artsy

Conclusion

I hope you found this trends list helpful!

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