Collecting art · Galerie Gleis4
A collection begins with your eye.
A first work, a new direction or a considered addition: we help you discover art that speaks to you personally.
Personal guidance
A conversation with Melanie.
What moves you about a work? How would you like to live with art? Melanie Breznik listens to your questions and guides you from initial exploration to a selection and a viewing.
Tell Melanie which artist or work interests you, or describe what you are looking for. An approximate size and budget help guide the conversation if you already have them in mind. You do not need to have made a decision.
In a personal exchange, we discuss suitable possibilities, your questions and a viewing if you wish. Price, availability and any additional costs are discussed for the specific work. An enquiry is not a purchase.
Konrad F. Breznik supports the gallery with his knowledge of the international art market and his experience as a former COO of Hauser & Wirth. More about the gallery →
Building a collection
Your eye develops through encounters.
A collection can be personal and evolve over time. These questions help you consider your next steps.
Find your own focus
Which themes, materials or artistic approaches stay with you? Visit exhibitions, compare works and note what you would like to see again.
Understand the individual work
Ask about its creation, technique, condition and provenance. For editions, discuss the edition size and identifying marks, and keep the available documentation together.
Plan the full budget
Alongside the work price, consider framing, transport, installation and, where relevant, insurance. A realistic framework allows you to make decisions in your own time.
Experience art in a room
Scale, surface, light and viewing distance feel different in front of an original. A viewing helps you consider a work’s presence and its place in your collection.
Document your collection
Keep invoices, dossiers and any certificates supplied. Record exhibitions, care guidance and the story of your acquisitions – these are part of the collection too.
Before your enquiry
What would you like to know before buying?
How do I find out the price and availability?
Open the linked artwork page and use its enquiry option. If you do not yet have a specific work in mind, tell Melanie about your interests through the collection enquiry. Price and availability are checked for the individual selection.
What information helps with my enquiry?
An artist’s name or artwork title and your question are a good starting point. A preferred size, approximate budget and intended location can help guide the conversation. If you are still exploring, simply tell us what appeals to you.
Can I see the art in person first?
You can visit the current exhibition during opening hours without an appointment. If you would like to see a specific work, please check with us beforehand whether it can be shown at the gallery. For a Private Viewing, the gallery is closed exclusively for you by personal arrangement.
What documentation is available for a work?
Ask about the available details of technique, dimensions, condition and provenance. For editions, the edition size and identifying marks are also relevant. We clarify which dossiers or certificates are available for each work; documentation varies.
What should I consider about transport and additional costs?
Let us know the city and country of the intended delivery address. Packing, transport and, where relevant, framing or installation need to suit the work and its destination. Scope, arrangements and costs are clarified individually before a purchase decision.
Secondary market · Private Sales
Significant artists. Personal access.
Alongside our gallery programme, we discreetly offer selected works from the international secondary market. Artists currently represented in these offers include:
- Mark Rothko
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Andy Warhol
- Gottfried Helnwein
- Pablo Picasso
- Anselm Kiefer
- Claude Monet
- Alberto Giacometti
- Henri Matisse
- Roy Lichtenstein
- Georg Baselitz
- Gerhard Richter
We discuss availability and details exclusively in a personal exchange. Specific works, images, prices and information about owners and mandates remain confidential in this section.
These offers are distinct from our gallery programme and the artists we represent exclusively.
Understanding the art market
Figures provide context. Each work is individual.
Global market sales show how the overall value of trade changes. They do not explain the price of an individual work or its future value.
Cycles of the global art market
1990–2025 history · Scenarios through 2031 · USD billion
Select a market phase to read its context. ≈ indicates rounded historical approximations.
Outlook: three possible paths
As of 13 October 2026. The solid line shows historical annual sales through 2025. Dashed lines are illustrative calculation scenarios for 2029 and 2031 — three and five years from 2026. No observed full-year figure for 2026 is presented here.
| Scenario / annual assumption | 2029 | 2031 |
|---|---|---|
| Subdued · −2% | 55.0 | 52.8 |
| Moderate · +3% | 67.1 | 71.2 |
| Strong · +6% | 75.2 | 84.5 |
USD billion, nominal. Calculation: 59.6 × (1 + assumed annual change)^(target year − 2025). These assumptions also apply to the unfinished year 2026.
Subdued: Weak demand, higher financing costs or cautious buyers.
Moderate: Gradual recovery in demand under broadly stable conditions.
Strong: Broader demand, more transactions and a stronger upper market segment.
An illustrative model by Galerie Gleis4, not an Art Basel or UBS forecast or a probability assessment. The rates are deliberately chosen assumptions, not predictions estimated from historical data. Total market sales do not represent the returns of individual artworks. Quality, provenance, condition and personal connection remain central to an acquisition.
2025 · Growth resumes. USD 59.6 billion: the report records 4% growth and an uneven recovery across market segments.
View all annual values and sources
| Year | Sales (USD billion) |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 27.2 |
| 1991 | 9.7 |
| 1992 | ≈ 10 |
| 1993 | ≈ 10 |
| 1994 | ≈ 11 |
| 1995 | ≈ 14 |
| 1996 | ≈ 13 |
| 1997 | ≈ 18 |
| 1998 | ≈ 19 |
| 1999 | ≈ 22 |
| 2000 | ≈ 22 |
| 2001 | ≈ 20 |
| 2002 | ≈ 21 |
| 2003 | ≈ 21 |
| 2004 | 30.3 |
| 2005 | ≈ 36 |
| 2006 | ≈ 54 |
| 2007 | 65.9 |
| 2008 | 62.0 |
| 2009 | 39.5 |
| 2010 | 57.0 |
| 2011 | 64.6 |
| 2012 | 56.7 |
| 2013 | 63.3 |
| 2014 | 68.2 |
| 2015 | 63.8 |
| 2016 | 56.9 |
| 2017 | 63.7 |
| 2018 | 67.7 |
| 2019 | 64.4 |
| 2020 | 50.3 |
| 2021 | 66.1 |
| 2022 | 68.1 |
| 2023 | 65.2 |
| 2024 | 57.5 |
| 2025 | 59.6 |
Nominal global sales of art and antiques, USD billion. 1990–2008: 2018 report, Figures 7.5 and 1.1; unlabeled historical bars marked ≈ were read from the chart and rounded to whole billions. 2009–2025: revised annual series from the 2026 report, Figure 1.1. Events provide historical context, not proof of a sole cause. Historical series, not investment returns. The dashed scenarios use the assumptions explained separately. Updated 13 October 2026. Art Basel & UBS 2026 ↗ · Art Basel & UBS 2018 (PDF) ↗ · Dotcom: Federal Reserve ↗
In 2025, estimated global sales rose to USD 59.6 billion. The report describes growth of 4% year-on-year and an uneven recovery across market segments.
For your selection, we consider the individual work: quality, condition, provenance and artistic context. Market activity offers an additional perspective.
Discuss the context →Welcome to Zug
Shall we meet at the gallery?
Simply come by
You are welcome without an appointment during opening hours. Take your time, explore the exhibition and speak with us.
Tuesday–Friday 11:00–18:30 · Saturday 10:00–16:00
Opening hours & directions →Private Viewing
For a discreet viewing, we close the gallery exclusively for you by arrangement. If you wish, we discuss in advance which work you would like to see in private.
Request a Private ViewingAlready have access to our digital salon? Enter Collector Access →