From first solo show to a mega-gallery took nine years at the median, and anything from none to 27
Years from each artist’s first solo show at a commercial gallery to the year a mega-gallery signed them
- Gagosianmedian 9 yearsAlex IsraelCarol Bove
- Hauser & Wirthmedian 10 yearsChristina KimezeHarmony Korine
- Pacemedian 11 yearsLoie HollowellFriedrich Kunath
- David Zwirnermedian 10 yearsNjideka Akunyili CrosbyJoe Bradley
- White Cubemedian 6.5 yearsMichael ArmitageDavid Altmejd
The numbers
| Mega-gallery | Artist | Years from first solo show |
|---|---|---|
| Gagosian | Alex Israel | 3 |
| Gagosian | Amoako Boafo | 4 |
| Gagosian | Anna Weyant | 3 |
| Gagosian | Carol Bove | 23 |
| Gagosian | Cy Gavin | 9 |
| Gagosian | Deana Lawson | 11 |
| Gagosian | Derrick Adams | 18 |
| Gagosian | Ewa Juszkiewicz | 7 |
| Gagosian | Hao Liang | 6 |
| Gagosian | Harold Ancart | 13 |
| Gagosian | Jadé Fadojutimi | 5 |
| Gagosian | Jamian Juliano-Villani | 11 |
| Gagosian | Jennifer Guidi | 13 |
| Gagosian | Jia Aili | 10 |
| Gagosian | Jonas Wood | 9 |
| Gagosian | Jordan Wolfson | 20 |
| Gagosian | Julie Curtiss | 7 |
| Gagosian | Kathleen Ryan | 8 |
| Gagosian | Lauren Halsey | 3 |
| Gagosian | Louise Bonnet | 4 |
| Gagosian | Nathaniel Mary Quinn | 5 |
| Gagosian | Piero Golia | 11 |
| Gagosian | Rachel Feinstein | 13 |
| Gagosian | Spencer Sweeney | 19 |
| Gagosian | Sterling Ruby | 11 |
| Gagosian | Theaster Gates | 9 |
| Gagosian | Titus Kaphar | 16 |
| Gagosian | Tyler Mitchell | 3 |
| Gagosian | Urs Fischer | 16 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Anj Smith | 6 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Rashid Johnson | 8 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Stefan Brüggemann | 14 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Amy Sherald | 7 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Avery Singer | 6 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Mika Rottenberg | 14 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Nicolas Party | 8 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Roberto Cuoghi | 16 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Camille Henrot | 16 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Christina Quarles | 4 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Thomas J Price | 10 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Allison Katz | 13 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Angel Otero | 16 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Ambera Wellmann | 7 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Daniel Turner | 17 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Firelei Báez | 11 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Flora Yukhnovich | 5 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Harmony Korine | 26 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Uman | 8 |
| Hauser & Wirth | George Rouy | 8 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Jeffrey Gibson | 18 |
| Hauser & Wirth | María Berrío | 12 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Michaela Yearwood-Dan | 5 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Nairy Baghramian | 20 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Christina Kimeze | 2 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Qiu Xiaofei | 19 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Conny Maier | 8 |
| Pace | Adam Pendleton | 8 |
| Pace | Adrian Ghenie | 7 |
| Pace | Alejandro Piñeiro Bello | 6 |
| Pace | Alicja Kwade | 18 |
| Pace | Anicka Yi | 15 |
| Pace | Friedrich Kunath | 27 |
| Pace | Gideon Appah | 3 |
| Pace | Hank Willis Thomas | 20 |
| Pace | Jules de Balincourt | 18 |
| Pace | Kohei Nawa | 13 |
| Pace | Kylie Manning | 11 |
| Pace | Latifa Echakhch | 14 |
| Pace | Lauren Quin | 5 |
| Pace | Li Hei Di | 2 |
| Pace | Loie Hollowell | 1 |
| Pace | Marina Perez Simão | 12 |
| Pace | Matthew Day Jackson | 17 |
| Pace | Maysha Mohamedi | 7 |
| Pace | Mika Tajima | 15 |
| Pace | Nigel Cooke | 14 |
| Pace | Pam Evelyn | 2 |
| Pace | Paulina Olowska | 19 |
| Pace | Raqib Shaw | 9 |
| Pace | Robert Nava | 5 |
| Pace | Torkwase Dyson | 14 |
| Pace | Trevor Paglen | 14 |
| Pace | Wang Guangle | 9 |
| Pace | William Monk | 10 |
| Pace | Yto Barrada | 9 |
| David Zwirner | Andra Ursuţa | 10 |
| David Zwirner | Dana Schutz | 18 |
| David Zwirner | Emma McIntyre | 7 |
| David Zwirner | Joe Bradley | 21 |
| David Zwirner | Jordan Wolfson | 11 |
| David Zwirner | Josh Smith | 14 |
| David Zwirner | Katherine Bernhardt | 21 |
| David Zwirner | Louis Fratino | 10 |
| David Zwirner | Lucas Arruda | 9 |
| David Zwirner | Michael Armitage | 7 |
| David Zwirner | Nate Lowman | 15 |
| David Zwirner | Njideka Akunyili Crosby | 2 |
| David Zwirner | Oscar Murillo | 2 |
| David Zwirner | Portia Zvavahera | 7 |
| David Zwirner | Sasha Gordon | 3 |
| David Zwirner | Shio Kusaka | 15 |
| David Zwirner | Victor Man | 19 |
| David Zwirner | Walter Price | 8 |
| David Zwirner | Yu Nishimura | 9 |
| White Cube | Alia Ahmad | 3 |
| White Cube | Christine Ay Tjoe | 15 |
| White Cube | Cinga Samson | 6 |
| White Cube | Danh Vo | 8 |
| White Cube | Danica Lundy | 4 |
| White Cube | David Altmejd | 16 |
| White Cube | Firenze Lai | 15 |
| White Cube | Ibrahim Mahama | 3 |
| White Cube | Ilana Savdie | 7 |
| White Cube | Julie Curtiss | 2 |
| White Cube | Klára Hosnedlová | 6 |
| White Cube | Liu Wei | 7 |
| White Cube | Louise Giovanelli | 3 |
| White Cube | Marguerite Humeau | 7 |
| White Cube | Marina Rheingantz | 15 |
| White Cube | Michael Armitage | 0 |
| White Cube | Suleman Aqeel Khilji | 11 |
| White Cube | TARWUK | 9 |
| White Cube | Tesfaye Urgessa | 9 |
| White Cube | Theaster Gates | 2 |
| White Cube | Tunji Adeniyi-Jones | 4 |
| White Cube | Virginia Overton | 5 |
Living artists born in 1970 or later whom the gallery signed (or first gave a solo show) in 2010 or later and still lists on its artists page: rosters read on October 4, 2026, Hauser & Wirth’s as of June 14, 2026. Sources: the artists’ CVs, the galleries’ announcements and the press.
From the report
From first show to mega-gallery, in charts
The 122 artists born since 1970 whom Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Pace and White Cube have signed since 2010, traced back to their first shows: who found them, who the mega-galleries took them from, how long the climb took, and what happened to the price of their work on the way up and since.
More from this report15
- From first show to mega-gallery, in numbers
- Their first solo shows were in 48 cities. Only 24 were in New York
- 21% of the artists’ first shows were at a gallery at Art Basel this year, against 54% of the galleries they joined a mega-gallery from
- A quarter of Gagosian’s younger artists came from other mega-galleries. A third of Pace’s came from galleries that closed
- Eight galleries each saw three or four of their artists go to a mega-gallery, and seventeen more saw two
- Of the artists signed since 2024, 20 of the 27 still have their old gallery too
- Half the artists given a first show by a mega-gallery since 2011 were 47 or older. Ten were under 30
- The five signed 19 of these artists in 2022, the most in any year
- Auction sales of new art peaked at $2.9 billion in 2021 and fell to $0.9 billion in 2025
- Anna Weyant’s prices rose 15-fold when she moved to Gagosian. Lauren Quin’s rose by a fifth
- A painting bought for $10,000 in 2016 sold at auction for $2.1m six years later
- Almost half the artists of the smallest galleries are emerging. More than half of the largest dealers’ are established
- The smallest galleries make 40% of their sales from a single artist
- Of artists whose first shows were at the most prestigious venues, 59% ended there. Of those who began at the least, 10% got there
- Twelve of the 37 artists in the mega-galleries’ solo shows this autumn have died