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Ben Gulak’s 2024 advice was to use data and direct connections to find art, while buying for the work itself rather than betting on appreciation. The downturn he described is no longer the latest market picture: Art Basel and UBS estimated that global sales grew 4% in 2025, after falling 12% in 2024. That modest rebound was uneven and remained below the 2022 peak.
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What Gulak meant by navigating the downturn
In a VentureBeat contributor feature published October 11, 2024, NALA founder Ben Gulak called the market decline an opportunity to question how buyers discover and purchase art. He argued for combining data-led discovery with more direct connections between artists and buyers, rather than relying only on traditional gatekeepers. The feature was contributor content; VentureBeat said its newsroom and editorial staff were not involved. Gulak’s argument is therefore best understood as his perspective, not an independent survey of the whole art market.
His clearest guidance was directed at buyers spending under $20,000: “you should get something you genuinely love and be happy for its artistic value, not because it might go up in value.” That is a sensible distinction between buying art for enjoyment and treating it as an investment. A recommendation engine or direct-sale route cannot establish that a work will appreciate.
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How the art market changed after Gulak’s 2024 comments
The latest figures give the downturn framing useful context. Art Basel and UBS estimated that global art sales fell to $57.5 billion in 2024, down 12% from the previous year, even as the number of transactions rose 3%. In its 2026 report, which covers 2025, the organizations estimated sales at $59.6 billion, up 4%, while transaction volume reached 41.5 million, up 2%. These are market-wide estimates, not measures of NALA activity or the prospects of a particular artist.
| Market measure | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated global sales | $57.5 billion; down 12% year over year | $59.6 billion; up 4% year over year |
| Transaction volume | Up 3% year over year | 41.5 million; up 2% year over year |
The contrast matters: a lower total value alongside more transactions in 2024 does not mean every kind of art or price bracket weakened in the same way. The 2025 recovery also varied by sales channel. Dealer sales rose 2% to $34.8 billion, public auction sales rose 9% to $20.7 billion, and reported private sales fell 5% to just under $4.2 billion. The overall market remained below its 2022 peak, so the data describe a modest, uneven recovery rather than a return to the previous high.
Sources: Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2025 and Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026.
How NALA says its data-led art matching works
NALA stands for Networked Artistic Learning Algorithm. The company says its recommender combines activity within the app with global art-market trends, using deep learning, content filtering, and collaborative filtering. It says its system considers more than 20 data points about artists, including market movements, gallery partnerships, art-fair attendance, and auction records. These are descriptions published by NALA, not independently audited findings about the system’s performance.
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The approach is meant to help surface work through a personalized feed rather than relying solely on a buyer’s search terms or a conventional catalog. A March 2026 interview with Gulak also described reverse-image search called Echo, voice search, and tools for designers to assemble shortlists, budgets, and client-ready collections. Gulak reported a roughly three-to-one like-to-dislike ratio after NALA shifted to artwork-level recommendations; the interview did not provide an independent audit or the underlying denominator. Product descriptions and that ratio should be treated as founder-reported, not proof that the recommendations outperform other ways of discovering art.
Sources: NALA About and TechRound’s March 10, 2026 interview with Ben Gulak.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to discover art directly from artists
If you want to explore an artist-direct route, use discovery tools as a way to broaden the shortlist—not as a substitute for looking closely at the work or checking the terms of a sale.
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- Start with what you respond to. Save works that hold your attention, and notice recurring subjects, media, scale, or color. Personal preferences can guide discovery better than a market trend alone.
- Use recommendations to widen the field. A platform such as NALA says it learns from user activity and market signals. Treat suggested artists as leads to investigate, not endorsements or predictions of future value.
- Review the artist and the work. Look at the artist’s wider practice, the specific work’s materials and dimensions, and any available details about its condition and provenance. Ask the seller what is not clear before committing.
- Confirm the practical terms directly. NALA’s FAQ says artists can connect with art lovers and sell directly without commission fees. It describes payment, shipping, and insurance integrations as upcoming, so confirm who handles each part of a transaction rather than assuming those services are already integrated.
- Set a budget you can live with. Decide what you can spend for the pleasure of owning the work. Do not rely on predicted resale value to make an otherwise uncomfortable purchase feel affordable.
NALA’s FAQ says artists register on the web, while art lovers join through an app. It describes the service as globally accessible and its web and app versions as English-language. Its Android availability wording is inconsistent and dated, so check the current app store in your region before relying on Android access. Source: NALA FAQ.
What direct connections can—and cannot—change
An artist-direct platform can make it easier to encounter work outside a familiar gallery or auction setting and may let artist and buyer communicate more directly. That changes discovery and potentially the route to a sale; it does not by itself verify the work, eliminate every transaction risk, or guarantee a lower total cost. Buyers should still establish what is being sold, who is responsible for delivery and insurance, and what recourse applies if a problem arises.
Gulak’s broader point is that data can help people find art they might otherwise miss, while direct relationships can reduce dependence on traditional intermediaries. The evidence supports presenting that as NALA’s thesis, not as proof that direct platforms are better for every artist or buyer. The global market reports, meanwhile, cannot tell an individual collector whether one work is fairly priced or likely to rise in value.
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