The West Bund Art and Design fair and Art021 opened last week in Shanghai with a burst of commercial energy, as many galleries reported brisk first-day sales that defied a backdrop of economic caution and regional competition.“The energy here feels like a true year-end rebound,” Enrico Polato, founder of Shanghai’s Capsule Gallery, told ARTnews on West Bund’s opening day. “I’m glad to be connecting with new collectors who have shown genuine interest in our program.”That optimism, however, was set against a sober economic forecast and a shifting gallery landscape.Just days earlier, China’s former finance minister Lou Jiwei warned at a major business conference in Beijing that the country’s property slump had yet to hit bottom and would continue to weigh on economic growth. Many galleries and collectors ARTnews spoke with ahead of the fairs said they were bracing for a subdued year.This economic uncertainty, combined with the overlap with Art Collaboration Kyoto (November 13–16), which many in the industry say siphoned attention from both international collectors and exhibitors, was evident in how major global galleries approached Shanghai this year.Opening day of West Bund Art & Design Fair.JEREMYBlue-chip fixtures like Gagosian and Pace, long-time regulars at the city’s fairs, opted to sit out entirely. Pace’s absence came on the heels of its announcement last month that it would close its flagship Hong Kong space. Those who did show up, including Almine Rech, White Cube, and David Zwirner, scaled back, choosing to participate in either Art021 or West Bund rather than doing both, as they had in the past.However, when the doors opened to collectors last Thursday, the buzz was surprisingly strong, especially at West Bund, where the fair debuted its new main venue. After years in a cavernous, brutalist factory, the event has shifted into a sleek, gemstone-like convention hall designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, a space many likened to a slightly smaller version of Art Basel Hong Kong’s venue.While the days of seven- or eight-figure works vanishing in the first few hours are clearly gone, many Chinese collectors say they now only buy art they genuinely like rather than treating it as an investment. (That’s backed up by a recent McKinsey survey, which found that over 70 percent of affluent Chinese consumers say they’re more impressed by cultural heritage than by straightforward displays of luxury.)Even so, notable sales still took place. At West Bund, Thaddaeus Ropac placed five works on opening day, including a Martha Jungwirth painting for €500,000 and an Alex Katz for $280,000. Hauser & Wirth sold two works by Avery Singer and Nicolas Party to an Australian collection for $575,000 and $520,000 respectively. White Cube reported several first-day sales, including two Antony Gormley sculptures priced between £250,000 and £500,000, and by day three, a Gerhard Richter watercolor for €325,000.“West Bund Art & Design’s move to its new venue this year brought a clear enhancement to the fair experience,” Wendy Xu, managing director of White Cube Asia, told ARTnews. “Its more centralized layout offered coherence and comfort that benefitted both galleries and collectors alike.”Installation View: Untitled (Loverboy) (1989) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres at Art021. Courtesy Art021Across town at Art021, David Zwirner benefited from a parallel program staged with David Chau, one of Art021’s founders, which included a solo show of Huma Bhabha at his CC Foundation and an installation of Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s Untitled (Loverboy) (1989) as a special project at the fair.“The Huma Bhabha show has certainly helped start great conversations with existing clients and new collectors,” Zwirner senior partner Christopher D’Amelio told ARTnews, noting that visitors gained deeper context for her work by seeing the exhibition.The gallery said it placed works by Huma Bhabha, Mamma Andersson, Katherine Bernhardt, Scott Kahn, Dana Schutz, and Walter Price, as well as Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s Untitled (Last Light) (1993), which went to a major Chinese collection, though it declined to disclose prices.As with most fairs, the blue-chip galleries usually held their ground, but the real measure of the market lies in how small and midsize galleries fare.Many local and regional exhibitors at both fairs described sales as modest, with several admitting—while speaking anonymously—that they had not placed enough works during the two VIP days to justify the cost of participation.But Shanghai’s long-standing tradition of cross-industry collaborations, between art, lifestyle brands, and property developers, offered galleries many alternative, more budget-friendly ways to tap into the city’s art week energy. Off-kilter satellite fairs such as Hang Over Shanghai—held at 1929 by Guillaume Galliot in the French Concession—and Collector’s Residence along the Suzhou Creek offered one such avenue.Initiated by Lingzhi Zhuang of Linseed Gallery and Lingteng Ou, co-founder of the Shanghai fashion boutique LMDS, Hang Over brought together nine galleries from five countries, including Layr gallery from Vienna and Turnus gallery from Warsaw, for a weeklong pop-up in a 1929 Art Deco club. Works were tucked inside a Louis Vuitton trunk, perched above ceiling beams, or blended seamlessly into the furniture, turning the entire space into an art treasure hunt.Zhuang said the idea was to create a more relaxed environment for dealers and collectors, while keeping costs manageable for smaller galleries. Participants like Misako&Rosen and Tomio Koyama Gallery, both tied up at Art Collaboration Kyoto, shipped works directly to her, and she handled sales on their behalf.Meanwhile, Collector’s Residence, a 13-day event founded by Tyra Wang, the China Partner of Larry’s List, took over an entire floor of a newly renovated industrial building along Suzhou River, right by Fotografiska Shanghai and Suhe Haus, now one of Shanghai’s newest art hotspots. The project brought together 11 galleries and institutions to create a fair that mixed painting and installation with haute couture, ancient artefacts and collectible furniture.Hang Over Shanghai, 2025. Photo Ling WeizhengCollector-initiated and lifestyle-driven exhibitions also put on strong showings throughout the week. The group show “Transmatter” at Hengshan House and Wanbing Huang’s solo exhibition inside the interior design brand WHYGARDEN’s showroom both reflected how Shanghai’s art-luxury ecosystem is maturing fast.“People in the art world like new things,” said Wang Luning, a London-based influencer and art dealer who staged a dual solo show of modern masters Chu Teh-Chun and Georges Mathieu in her private space in Shanghai. “You need to come up with a new model to grab everyone’s attention.”Wang explained why she pivoted to modern masters instead of contemporary artists like she did last year. With so many contemporary shows happening across the city, she wanted to take a different route.The choice also fits her venue, a space that once belonged to early 20th-century industrialist Rong Deshen—whose brother’s former residence is now Prada Rongzhai. The investment level for modern works also promises a higher return. “Collectors are still looking for quality,” she said.