Vittoria Benzine, Elephant’s resident psychic, returns to the cards to read the art world’s year ahead.
As 2026 started, reporters from Artnet News to The Art Newspaper tried their hand at playing Art World Psychic. Several themes prevailed throughout their prognoses. Like, will the art market rebound? And, how will that market’s power players fare in the Gulf, where two fairs will launch?
The first of those two questions has prevailed for several years now. With global circumstances shifting so immensely, it seems clear that the art world’s next heyday won’t look like its last one. It simply can’t. Listen, I pined after my high school boyfriend for seven years — I know the nuanced difficulty of getting excited about the unknown. We don’t know it. Here, the tarot can offer assistance, helping us make out art’s murky future through the type of haze pervading the asemic calligraphy in Queens-based painter Ang Ziqi Zhang’s show, Unfixer, at Silke Lindner.
Just to keep proving I’m stronger than luck, I consult my Tattoo Tarot deck for a reading on 2026, pulling twelve cards — one for each month — clockwise, in a two-row rectangular circle, because what is a year if not a cycle, and what is time but an endless spiral?
You can assess this spread both month by month and overall. My initial impressions: that’s a lot of men, a lot of twos and fours, and a pretty solid balance of elemental suits on the table. The twos and fours are all in the top half of the spread. They are five of the six cards in the row. (The exception, notably, is the prominent King of Pentacles, hinting that sales will be strong in March.) I mean, this row is a work of art! The symmetry is striking: the Two of Wands reversed, the Four of Cups, the Two of Cups reversed, the Four of Wands, concluding with the Two of Swords — kind of the odd one out, except its traditional appearance looks very similar to the Two of Wands in this deck, five cards down, framing the row with two yin-yang shapes. There’s no true middle in a six-card row, but the King of Pentacles is trying to be there.
Anyway. What do those cards mean? If your 2026 is off to a slow start, don’t worry — January is for the overthinkers. This sense of pause will last into February, typically a landmark month for the art market, presenting fair weeks in LA, Mexico City, and this year, Doha. As I said, come March, business picks up. There’s a dip in April, and a big celebration in May — I wonder if that’s referencing New York’s spring fair week, the beleaguered 61st Venice Biennale, or both.
A state of suspension will continue into June, despite Art Basel’s declining flagship fair. The art world will be extra selfish in July, then drag its feet back to work in August. Powerful, traditional institutions will steer the art scene come September. Then, in October, a heartbreak finally mends.
Temperance — our sole lady in the spread, alongside four men — represents November. It is poised to prove 2026’s most significant art moment. Temperance is not as straightforward as, say, the Magician. On the surface, yes, it means its name — prudence. I recall pulling a card while waiting to rent a car to the Hamptons in 2021, drawing Temperance, and feeling crestfallen. But really, Temperance is about control, the capacity to balance your inner and outer worlds. It’s about alchemy, which might be our only hope — transforming ugliness into beauty. What does that mean in an art context? Time will tell. Frieze Abu Dhabi will notably debut that month.
2026 ends with the Hermit reversed. This card, in this position, evokes an imbalance between the inner and outer worlds — calling for either more introspection or extroversion. Interesting. The card above it reminds us that 2026 begins with a kind of analysis paralysis. Now that we’ve gone through the spread, I recall last month’s cards indicated we’re due for an intellectual upheaval. Perhaps this Hermit signifies emerging from it, progressing to the next adventure. Of course, right now we’re right here, at the start of a potentially well-rounded and powerful year.
To conclude, I pull three more cards — one to summarise the year, and two for advice. Look at those three Major Arcana! The chances of such a draw are quite low. Honestly, I was hoping for some good news. Alas, the Chariot reversed confirms this year will be laden with pauses, perhaps a lack of direction. For advice, art should focus on Justice and The Fool. These are quite clear directives. Yes, Justice relates to fairness and legal issues, but more importantly, it’s about balance, karma. The Fool, of course, symbolises a fresh start — so fresh we can’t even conceptualise it now. Indeed, all in good time. See you next month, in the year of the Fire Horse!
