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Janet I. Traub / Love, Oil on Linen, 50 cm X 70 cm

THE ART & CULTURE MAGAZINE

The Art Market in 2026 Recovery, Selective Growth, and Shifting Collector Priorities

INTERVIEW WITH JANET I. TRAUB

ISSUE 14

ARTIO

Artsy and the Platformization of the Art Market

ARTIO MAGAZINE

INTRO

Director/Curator in Chief Bisa Bennett An accomplished and experienced artist herself, Bisa Bennett understands the importance of creating meaningful opportunities for artists to exhibit their work. As a curator and multimedia designer, she is also well-versed in creating engaging opportunities for viewers to experience art. “At our gallery, our vision is to serve as a dynamic and inclusive platform that fosters connections between artists and art enthusiasts, nurturing a vibrant and diverse artistic community,” she explains. Cover Photo Artist: Janet I. Traub Instagram: artio.art.gallery Email: exhibit@artiogallery.com Copyright © Artio Gallery.Inc

CONTENTS JUN. 2026 Interview with Janet I. Traub

The Art Market in 2026

Represented artists

13 Artsy and the Platformization of the Art Market

REALISM AS POETRY – AN INTERVIEW WITH

JANET I. TRAUB

“My journey in art is delineated by two distinct periods; the first being my formative training as a youth, and the second being my return after a 32year hiatus. With each being bound together by my desire to paint,” explains Canadian artist Janet I.Traub. With formal academic training at the Florence Academy of Art, the Academy of Realist Art in Edinburgh, and the Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, the artist has honed a highly distinctive figurative visual language imbued with poetic lyricism. In Traub’s paintings, striking realism becomes a vehicle for emotional resonance and subtle storytelling.

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Bath Time, Oil on Linen, 50 cm X 60 cm

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INTERVIEW JANET I. TRAUB

My Broken Heart, Oil on Linen, 25 cm X 40 cm

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For her Senza Fine Exhibition in Florence, Traub remarked, “I believe I am an artist that is actually documenting the human condition, whether that be love or heartbreak. If you look at my paintings, each one has that window. There is a feeling, there’s an emotion.” In her Pomegranate Lover Series, the artist created an exceptional body of work. Painted over a period of 3 years, Traub painted a pair of pomegranates in various locations across Florence, from the spa to the Palazzo Vecchio. The result is a series of exquisite oil on linen paintings that incorporate still life, architecture and landscape. Pomegranates have a storied history in Italy and the Mediterranean and carry figurative meaning, referencing fertility and abundance; however, in Traub’s work, they assume a more personal symbolism. The artist positions them in intimate, domestic tableaux. In Love, the position of the fruit against a soft-hued horizon captures a moment of reflection and stillness. In Bath Time, the pomegranates are at the centre of the composition, perched on the edge of a weathered stone basin. With such focus on the poetry of the still life, Traub’s work recalls the Dutch and Spanish still-life painting of the 17th century. In Naked Under the Sheets the shiny red surface of the fruit contrasts beautifully with the soft creases in the white fabric.

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INTERVIEW JANET I. TRAUB

Naked Under the Sheets, Oil on Linen, 30 cm X 40 cm

Traub’s attention to surface and light is masterful, infusing each painting with an unmistakable, delicate atmospheric quality. In Palazzo Vecchio, the artist uses a stone aperture as a powerful framing device, capturing sunlight filtering into the space, gently dappling the softly textured stone wall. Using carefully controlled focus to depict the scenic view in the distance, some passages of the painting are highly detailed while others dissolve into soft focus. A similar sense of atmosphere and gentle light is present in Senza Fine, where the artist paints a gently rolling landscape.

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Senza Fine, Oil on Linen, 100 cm X 100 cm

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Love, Oil on Linen, 50 cm X 70 cm

The Pomegranate Lover Series perfectly encapsulates Traub’s deep observation of the world around her, capturing rich beauty and poetry in small moments. In her official statement, she writes of her career as an artist, “I do not know where this journey will lead, but know it is where I have sought to be for a long time.”

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Palazzo Vecchio, Oil on Linen, 70 cm X 50 cm A R T I O

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THE ART MARKET IN 2026: RECOVERY, SELECTIVE GROWTH, AND SHIFTING COLLECTOR PRIORITIES After two years of contraction, the global art market has entered 2026 with renewed stability and cautious optimism. According to the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, global art sales increased by 4% in 2025, reaching an estimated $59.6 billion and marking the market’s first significant return to growth since the post-pandemic slowdown. While the recovery has been uneven, the strongest momentum has emerged at the high end of the market. Major auction houses reported substantial increases in sales during the recent New York season, driven by exceptional estates and renewed demand for blue-chip modern and postwar works. Collectors competed aggressively for historically significant pieces by artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Constantin Brâncuși, reinforcing the continued dominance of trophy works within the ultra-wealthy collecting sphere. At the same time, the broader market is undergoing a structural shift. Speculative buying has slowed considerably compared to the rapid expansion seen during the NFT and post-pandemic boom years. Instead, collectors appear increasingly focused on quality, provenance, and long-term cultural value. Galleries and advisors report that buyers are taking more deliberate approaches to acquisition, prioritizing works with strong conceptual grounding and material presence over trend-driven investments.

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Importantly, growth is no longer concentrated exclusively at the top. Lower and mid-tier markets have shown resilience, particularly for emerging and midcareer artists whose works remain relatively accessible. The number of transactions globally has continued to rise even during periods of market slowdown, suggesting sustained collector engagement despite economic uncertainty. Contemporary figurative painting, material abstraction, and multidisciplinary mixed media practices remain among the strongest-performing categories within galleries and fairs. Collectors are increasingly drawn to works that feel emotionally resonant, process-oriented, and visibly handmade, an ongoing response to digital fatigue and the growing presence of AI-generated imagery within visual culture. The market in 2026 ultimately appears more selective, but also more mature. Rather than chasing rapid speculation, collectors and institutions are demonstrating renewed interest in longevity, craftsmanship, and cultural relevance. In this environment, artists whose practices combine conceptual depth with material authenticity may be best positioned for sustained visibility within the evolving contemporary art landscape.

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MICHEL L'ARTISTE

The Current of Us | Acrylic, Acrylic Medium & Oil Paint on Stretched Canva | 48x36in

Michel L'Artiste is a contemporary American artist whose work explores emotion, transformation, and human connection through abstraction and symbolic figuration. In The Gold Within Us and The Eruption of Us, he transforms the human figure into an emotional landscape where memory, resilience, and renewal become visible. Rather than portraying the body as a physical form, Michel presents it as a vessel of lived experience, tracing invisible currents of emotion through expressive textures, flowing organic lines, and symbolic color. The gold-veined figure of The Gold Within Us speaks to the hidden strength that emerges through vulnerability, while The Eruption of Us radiates movement, healing, and personal evolution through vibrant blues and greens. Blending layered materials with intuitive markmaking, Michel creates works that invite viewers into a deeply personal yet universal dialogue about identity, connection, and the transformative power of the human spirit. A R T I O

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The Gold Within Us | Acrylic, Acrylic Medium, Acrylic Ink, Plaster of Paris & Oil Paint | 48x36in A R T I O

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CARLOS ABRAHAM

Cubo_telon

Works such as Cubo Telon and Banco Telon capture beautifully lit subjects in classical poses. The subtle depiction of light and shadow enhances the representation of the anatomy of his subjects, recalling the naturalism of a Renaissance painting. Abraham has exhibited widely throughout Mexico and Buenos Aires. His work is held in the permanent collection of the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico.

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Papel picado / Acrylic on canvas / 80x80cm 1

PILAR MAINOU

Pilar Mainou is a Mexican abstract artist whose work explores emotion, light, and movement through bold color and expressive gesture. Influenced by her background in jewelry design, she balances precision with spontaneity, creating vibrant compositions that invite emotional rather than literal interpretation. In Papel Picado 1, sweeping strokes of crimson, turquoise, gold, and emerald evoke the movement and celebration of the traditional Mexican papel picado, transforming color into a dynamic expression of energy, memory, and joy. Through rich textures and rhythmic brushwork, Mainou creates an immersive visual experience where movement and emotion become one. A R T I O

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CARMEN ESPEJO LOPEZ Carmen Espejo López is a Granada-born painter currently based in Toledo. A selftaught artist and hairdresser by profession, she has developed a distinctive visual language through intuition, discipline, and a profound passion for painting. Her work reflects an emotional search for beauty, using color, texture, and atmosphere to explore personal expression while inviting moments of quiet contemplation. In Number 1 and Number 2, Carmen presents two acrylic canvases that speak the same visual language in entirely different emotional registers. Composed of fragments of rolled newspaper that are painted and arranged into delicate intersecting lines, the works transform everyday materials into poetic abstractions.

Number 1 / 90x90cm / Acrilyc on Canvas

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In Number 1, the layered linear network unfolds across a deep, dark ground, creating a field of controlled tension where each intersection carries a sense of movement and quiet intensity. In Number 2, the same vocabulary is set against a soft sage background, allowing the structures to breathe with greater openness and serenity. Together, the paintings become a meditation on balance, rhythm, and the subtle ways context alters perception, demonstrating how a single gesture can shift from urgency to tranquility while revealing the invisible connections that shape our emotional experience.

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Number 2 / 90x90cm / Acrilyc on Canvas A R T I O

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KARAYA Painting for me is pure alchemy – driven entirely by the energy of emotions that need transmuting through my paintcovered hands, which channel the energy and transform it into a dance of vibrant colours on the canvas. My desire is for the observer to deeply connect with my work- for it to awaken something in their soul that has long laid dormant. – Karaya Kaya began painting in 2021 following a series of very significant and devastating life events. The artist describes her desire to paint as a compulsion, rather than a conscious decision, “My creative energy just erupted from within.” She explains. Indeed, Kaya’s flowing energy is powerfully present within every one of her paintings. Her work is instantly recognisable for its vivid colour palette and dynamic mark-making. Works such as Home, Elevate, Root and First Born, document the artist’s emotion and energy across various surfaces, from tree roots and cork sheets to traditional canvas. Inspired by her Reiki practice, Kaya’s process is deeply intuitive and spontaneous. Elevate / 91 x 122cm / Acrilyc on Canvas

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Home / 91.5 x 61cm / Acrilyc on Canvas

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JIM BLACK

Jim Black’s paintings contain within them the exciting tension between ambiguity and revelation. Balancing abstraction and figuration, Black’s paintings suggest narratives and familiar forms, yet resist easy translation, thereby remaining powerfully enigmatic. His oil and wax paintings embody the skilful exploration of surface and mark-making. Rich in texture and colour, works such as Not Nothing, Night Vision, and Trepidation are dynamic and deeply layered. The artist uses an abundant colour palette of mustard yellow, bright white, warm red, and black. Black’s intuitive practice involves spontaneous drawing and an expressionistic handling of the paint, where surfaces are simultaneously built, obscured and revealed.

Night Vision,Painting-oil and wax on canvas,72"x48"

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Untitled,Painting-mixed media,60"x48"

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NADA KELEMEN

Avatar / Mixed media / 60x80

Nada Kelemen is a Czech painter whose work bridges spiritual experience, intuitive energy, and deep inner awareness. Creating exclusively from a state of inner stillness, she approaches painting as both a meditative practice and a means of transmitting emotional and spiritual resonance. Working with acrylic, oil, structural techniques, and influences drawn from Japanese calligraphy, she builds richly textured compositions that transcend representation to evoke unseen energies and states of consciousness. In Avatar and Dryad, nature becomes both subject and metaphor. Avatar unfolds as an ethereal field of luminous blues, where layered textures and flowing forms suggest the presence of living spiritual beings emerging from light and atmosphere.

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Dryad / Mixed media / 93x92cm

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In contrast, Dryad immerses the viewer in a vibrant landscape of verdant greens, its bold, gestural brushstrokes evoking the ancient spirit of the forest and the enduring soul of trees. Together, these works celebrate the profound interconnectedness of humanity and nature, inviting viewers into contemplative spaces where intuition, energy, and the natural world merge into a single visual experience. Nada's paintings are not simply images but energetic imprints— expressions of harmony, transformation, and quiet spiritual presence that speak directly to the subconscious. Her work has been exhibited extensively across Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East, earning international recognition for its unique contribution to contemporary spiritual and intuitive art.

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Work: Coded Plot (Light in Transit Series) / Mixed media / 80x80cm

ADRI TRENTIN

Adri Trentin is a Brazilian contemporary artist from Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, whose abstract and intuitive practice brings together spirituality, movement, and sustainability through vibrant mixed-media compositions. Working primarily with acrylic and oil on canvas, she creates dynamic visual environments where gesture and color become vehicles for emotional and sensory experience. In Coded Plot and Beach Wind, from her ongoing Light in Transit series, Adri explores the continuous dialogue between light, matter, and perception. Bold curves, rhythmic forms, and luminous palettes of turquoise, pink, yellow, and deep blue intertwine to create compositions that appear constantly in motion, revealing shifting pathways of energy and emotion.

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Beach wind / Mixed media / 80x80cm

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While Coded Plot evokes a carefully orchestrated network of visual connections, Beach Wind introduces a freer, more fluid rhythm reminiscent of coastal air and the spontaneous movement of nature. Together, the paintings celebrate the transformative power of light—not as illumination alone, but as a living force that crosses, reorganizes, and reshapes perception. Through her intuitive language of color and form, Adri invites viewers into an immersive experience where abstraction becomes a meditation on movement, harmony, and the invisible currents that connect the physical and spiritual worlds. Her work has been exhibited in Brazil and internationally, continuing to establish her voice within contemporary abstract art.

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BIANCA PIRLOG

Bianca Pirlog is a London-based contemporary artist whose practice explores psychological interiority, healing, and the fluid nature of identity through a restrained yet deeply emotive visual language. Drawing on experiences shaped by Romania, London, and Japan, she works across painting and mixed-media processes, building her compositions through delicate layers of oil, ink, acrylic, gold leaf, diamond dust, and textured surfaces that evoke both vulnerability and resilience. In The Weight of Seasons, Pirlog presents a portrait suspended between transformation and stillness, where fractured textures, weathered surfaces, and luminous traces of gold become metaphors for growth through adversity. The figure appears neither whole nor broken, but caught within the quiet passage of becoming, as cracks and erosion reveal the beauty of imperfection rather than conceal it. Echoing the Japanese philosophy of embracing transience and the poetic language of kintsugi, the work transforms rupture into remembrance and healing. Through its subtle interplay of material richness and emotional restraint, The Weight of Seasons invites viewers to reflect on the cycles of nature, identity, and renewal, reminding us that our deepest fractures often become the places where light and resilience emerge. Bianca Pirlog's work has been exhibited internationally and has received numerous awards and institutional recognition, establishing her as a compelling voice in contemporary figurative painting.

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The Weight of Seasons / Mixed Media Ink & Oil Paint, gold dust, acrylic, gold leaf, diamond dust on Canvas/ 100x100cm

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ZSUZSA KLEMM

Berlin-based artist Zsuzsa Klemm describes her artistic practice as “a method to capture the fleeting moment, sensations, impressions, and thoughts in images, and to manifest the inexplicable with form and colour.” Working primarily in mixed media and acrylic, Klemm takes inspiration from myriad sources from film, philosophy and literature to current social issues and art history. Her visual language embodies an intuitive approach to colour and form. In Magic Place and Playful City, there is a dynamic interplay between joyful colours, liberated shapes, and expressive mark-making. These works demonstrate the artist’s mastery of her medium, here paint is loosely applied in almost translucent washes and thickly layered in textured brushstrokes. Klemm’s paintings.

Night Vision,Painting-oil and wax on canvas,72"x48"

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Playful City, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 70 cm

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UTAELLAMARIE PETER

“I like to show the surprising, the strange, the surreal in my works,” explains German artist Utaellamarie Peter. Working in acrylic or oil, her large-format paintings explore diverse subjects, from animals and abstraction to landscapes and the human figure. What unites her practice is a desire to create a moment of reflection, in a world flooded by mass media imagery. Peter elaborates, “Perceiving and reflecting - in a world flooded with news and images, painting offers a space for debate and positioning.” In paintings such as Abstrakt 24-01 and Abstrakt 2402, soft clouds of yellow, turquoise and pastel pink emerge and recede among dark spaces, giving the work a contemplative quality. Peter has trained in classical and modern painting and art history at the European Art Academy in Trier and the Kunstwerkstatt Mainz.

Night Vision,Painting-oil and wax on canvas,72"x48"

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Abstrakt 24-01 - Acrylic - 90x60cm

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NINA HONIGSCHNABEL

Nina Honigschnabel’s works emerge from a deep engagement with the act of painting. Through a variety of techniques, the artist builds tactile surfaces and abstract forms. In works such as Deep Sea, the surface of the work takes on a sculptural quality, cracked gold paint recalls the earth’s textured surface. Layers of white and blue come together like a misty horizon. Ocean View captures the light and shadow of a seascape, alluding to golden sands and an ocean reflecting the sky’s light. Honigschnabel explains, “For me, painting is something magical that takes place in my mind as a colour story of its own. By spatula and mixed techniques…and by using several shades of colour, I create my personal soul and fantasy paintings with individual moods.”

Night Vision,Painting-oil and wax on canvas,72"x48"

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Ocean View, Acrylic on Canvas, 70x70cm

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MERVE GÖKGÖZ

Merve Gökgöz’s hand-built stoneware vessels are exquisite sculptural objects. Her pieces embody a profound affinity with her chosen medium. Göckgöz creates unique ceramic works that have a natural organic quality. Her pieces recall objects found in the natural world, such as seed pods, shells and fossils. Dark Rumination celebrates the materiality of clay, the petal-like forms have an incredibly tactile surface texture. Layers embodies a smoothness with an aperture reminiscent of a conch shell. Embodying a refined minimal aesthetic, the artist employs a colour palette that incorporates earthy tones and natural hues. Göckgöz pays close attention to the finish of the work, creating tactile textures and surfaces that play with light and shadow.

Night Vision,Painting-oil and wax on canvas,72"x48"

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Layers, Handbuilt Stonewear, H:43cm, W:29cm,D:26cm

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Nostalgia Mixed Media on Acrylic paper with a linen finish 30x30cm

ZENA DABBOUS

Zena Dabbous is a Lebanese-Canadian visual artist whose multicultural background informs a distinctive practice that moves between conceptual figuration, drawing, and mixed media. Deeply committed to the representation of women, she explores themes of identity, memory, and resilience through elegant, expressive portraits. In Nostalgia and Nostalgic, Dabbous creates a compelling dialogue between past and present, presenting two female figures that embody different moments in the evolution of womanhood. Nostalgia evokes the quiet vulnerability and mystery of the 1920s, while Nostalgic introduces a more contemporary presence, where confidence and resilience emerge without losing the delicacy of the original. Together, the works form a poetic reflection on feminine strength, revealing how identity evolves across generations while preserving the emotional threads that connect women through time. Her work has been exhibited internationally and includes permanent installations at Kuwait's Museum of Modern Art, as well as collaborations with the U.S. Embassy and leading cultural institutions in Kuwait.

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Nostalgic Mixed Media on Acrylic paper with a linen finish 30x30cm

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Teich im rosa Licht / Acrilyc on canvas / 100x80cm

RITTER VON MAUERN

Claudia Neukirch, known artistically as Ritter von Mauern, is a German contemporary painter whose intuitive practice is guided by emotion, spontaneity, and the freedom of the creative moment. In Teich im rosa Licht (Pond in Pink Light), soft veils of pink, turquoise, blue, and green dissolve into one another, evoking the tranquil atmosphere of a pond bathed in the gentle light of dawn or dusk. Rather than depicting a literal landscape, the painting captures its emotional essence, inviting viewers into a quiet space of reflection where color, light, and memory merge. Through her instinctive approach and luminous palette, Claudia creates works that leave room for personal interpretation while celebrating the beauty of stillness and inner peace. A R T I O

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ARTSY AND THE PLATFORMIZATIN OF THE ART MARKET

The rise of platforms such as Artsy has fundamentally reshaped how contemporary art is circulated, accessed, and valued. Positioned at the intersection of marketplace, archive, and media outlet, Artsy exemplifies what might be termed the “platformization” of the art world. At its core, Artsy functions as a digital infrastructure linking galleries, collectors, and institutions. Its viewing rooms—particularly those aligned with major art fairs extend the temporal and geographic limits of exhibition, enabling works to be encountered and acquired beyond the physical booth. This model gained particular momentum during the pandemic, but its persistence suggests a more permanent transformation Crucially, Artsy does not merely replicate the gallery experience online; it reframes it. The platform’s algorithmic logic—organizing works through filters, recommendations, and price transparency—introduces a new mode of navigation. Art becomes searchable, sortable, and comparable, aligning it, however uneasily, with the logics of e-commerce. For galleries, this shift presents both opportunity and tension. On one hand, Artsy expands reach, connecting programs to global audiences and facilitating sales outside traditional networks. On the other, it introduces a degree of standardization: artworks appear within a unified interface, potentially flattening distinctions between contexts and curatorial frameworks.

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