Art movements have been used to define the face of the art world since time immemorial.
Sometimes these movements are defined after they have come to pass, grouping artists working in tandem, and sometimes these movements are coined by a group of artists whilst they’re working as a collective. Despite how they came to be known, there has been a new and revolutionary movement every decade or so, of the 20th century.
From Fauvism to Postmodernism, historians and artists alike pin new styles and schools of thought to a timeline, showing a clear evolution of art through the last several hundred years. However the timeline gets slightly blurry towards the end, and since the height of Pop Art in the 1960s, the blanket terms and generalised labels have fallen by the wayside.
Throughout the late 20th century while the ‘isms’ began to fade, the art world began to acknowledge ‘scenes’ and ‘groups’ opposed to overarching movements. The Young British Artists for example may have been perceived differently had they emerged 50 years prior; however, due to changing perceptions and an increasingly interconnected world, we don’t consider their collective a ‘movement’.
Another example is Stuckism, a self proclaimed art movement that has expanded from 13 artists in 1999, to 236 groups across 52 countries in 2017 - despite the length and breadth of the movements it’s not considered decade defining or revolutionary by art world observers.
The 21st century seems to be missing its counterpart to the revolutionary work of Cubism in the early 20th century that laid the foundations for contemporary art and the ideas surrounding it. Perhaps Globalism, the drastic changes in communication, and interconnectivity are changing the way art is made or maybe not enough time has passed to look at things retrospectively - perhaps the success of the market itself is stunting the formation of artistic movements.
So how much has the art market grown?
Since 2000, the global art market has expanded rapidly, driven by the rise of China and surging interest in contemporary art. China, once absent from the market, grew from 1% of global sales in 2000 to 30% by 2011, briefly surpassing the U.S. in 2013. Despite economic shifts, Chinese collectors and institutions remain major forces in 2025.
Contemporary art has also boomed, its value grew over 450% between 2003 and 2007 and continues to dominate auctions and fairs today. With new wealth, digital platforms, and younger collectors reshaping demand, the art market is now more global, diverse, and tech-savvy than ever.
What’s this all got to do with art movements?
It's easy to forget when reading and writing about the cold financial facts of the art market, that it is so closely linked with the what, why and how of artists' creative pursuits, a dip in value or shift in preference can affect tastes and styles globally. Artists (consciously or not) resonate with these fluctuations and their work will change as a result.
Perhaps it's not that globalisation and changing art world perceptions put an end to ‘isms’ and movements, but instead the fact that artists are creating work at a frequency and style that satisfies the market and complements their work's value. It could be suggested that this fast paced, more commercial approach to art production doesn’t lend itself to the creation of art movements and collectives.
Will a great revolutionary art movement emerge or will time slowly reveal one? Only time can tell. What is for certain though, is that the growth of the global art market seems to have been wholly unaffected by the pandemic and is set to continue increasing.
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