The Data Behind Artsy’s Online Art Fair, Foundations
Underway through February 14th, Artsy’s online art fair Foundations spotlights 130 tastemaking galleries from more than 35 countries worldwide, united by their ability to uncover fresh and underrecognized artists. More than 500 emerging and underrecognized artists from over 60 countries are presenting 2,000+ artworks at this edition, with prices ranging from $200 to $50,000.
Here, thanks to Artsy’s in-house data, we break down the numbers behind the fair, taking a deep dive into the artists, artworks, and galleries participating in Foundations Winter 2024.
Artists
Based on Artsy’s internal data.
The above chart illustrates the artists with works in Foundations Winter 2024 that have the most followers on Artsy. The list is topped by Jeffrey Cheung, whose work Untitled (2023) is part of the presentation of Paris-based Bim Bam Gallery. The American artist is known for his works that celebrate queer and trans people of color. He also had a solo show with New Image Art in West Hollywood last year.
Cheung is followed by Hiroshi Sato, who has a trio of works in the presentation of San Francisco’s Marrow Gallery, where he also had a solo show last September. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Edward Hopper, the Japanese painter depicts subjects in ambiguous and often isolated circumstances.
Based on Artsy’s internal data.
The above chart breaks down the gender representation of the artists with works in this season’s edition. With women representing 47% of the artists featured in Foundations this winter, the fair is close to gender parity.
It also compares favorably to the gender imbalances of the art market at large. As we covered in our Women Artists Market Report last March, women represented just 9.3% of the total share of artworks sold at auction in 2022.
Based on Artsy’s internal data.
Given that Foundations is a fair focused on platforming fresh and underrecognized talents, it’s unsurprising that the median birth year of artists participating is 1985. As the chart above shows, though, it’s important not to entirely conflate the definition of an “underrecognized artist” with “young artist.”
The artists in Foundations span generations, with the most senior artist at the fair being Charles Zuill, who was born in 1935. The Bermudian artist is a part of the Foundations presentation of Black Pony Gallery, which specializes in the Caribbean mid-Atlantic art world. The gallery, which is based in Miami and Somerset, Bermuda, brings together a selection of artists from the region who are experimenting with abstraction, with Zuill’s monochromatic, geometric works among them.
The youngest artist featured in Foundations was born in 2004: Daniel Santangelo, who has works featured in the presentation of the London gallery Chilli Art Projects. In his paintings in Foundations, the artist draws on myth and ritual in a pair of ethereal canvases.
Galleries
Based on Artsy’s internal data.
Pooling together 130 galleries from more than 35 countries, this season’s edition of Foundations is truly international in scope. The chart above shows the galleries with the most followers on Artsy and is led by New Jersey–based gallery Jonathan LeVine Projects. The gallery’s commitment to art on the cutting edge is represented by its dual artist presentation in Foundations, featuring the swirling mixed-media works of Joshua Edward Bennett and the robotic sculptures of Kumkum Fernando.
The gallery is followed by Hashimoto Contemporary, which was founded in 2013 and has branches in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. For its presentation in Foundations, the gallery offers a selection of new and recent works by Scott Albrecht, Gregory Euclide, Rachel Gregor, Seonna Hon, and Madeleine Tonzi.
Artworks
Based on Artsy’s internal data.
Painting, unsurprisingly, is the most prevalent medium in Foundations. The vast majority of collectors (94%) surveyed in Artsy’s Art Collector Insights 2023 report said that they purchase paintings, and the dominance of the medium is broadly reflected in the chart above, which analyzes the 2,000+ works for sale in Foundations.
While there are over double the number of paintings in the fair than any other mediums, there is a broad variety to be found—from the works of Christine Rebuhn in Swivel Gallery’s presentation that incorporate materials such as archery bows, violin edges, and taxidermy, to the 3D-printed creations of Wi Yifei at ART LABOR.
Based on Artsy’s internal data.
With 88% of the artworks in the fair being created in the 2020s, it’s fair to say that Foundations is undergirded by the presence of fresh artworks. Some 59% of the works in Foundations are from the past year, and more than 50 works were executed in 2024—quite a remarkable number considering that the fair began just over three weeks into the new year. As the chart above shows, Foundations isn’t just a platform for discovering exceptional and underlooked talents, it’s also an opportunity to buy some of the freshest works available today.
Header and thumbnail: Jeffrey Cheung, detail of “Untitled,” 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Bim Bam Gallery.
