Artistic foresight: Art’s ability to sense what’s next

Most companies think their fiercest battles are fought inside their category. However, they are not. The real advantage comes from those who read culture early and, of course, art, at the avant-garde, has always been the clearest signal.

© MoMA Mart 2026

Business today isn’t destabilized by competitors only, but more than often by cultural drift, i. e., the growing distance between what the world currently expresses and what brands still say while culture moves, consumers reinterpret meaning, categories reshuffle, and competitors reframe. Brands that don’t move with this flow don’t fail loudly. They fade quietly.

“All department stores will become museums, and all museums will become department stores.” –– Andy Warhol

This is where art matters: as a guiding star.

Kind reminder: don’t rely too much on your analysis of past figures. Art at the forefront of the avant-garde has always sensed what’s coming before it’s measurable. It doesn’t wait for validation, but it creates new frames of reference. When businesses learn to read art and culture – not merely sticking to trend reports – they gain early access to emerging values, aesthetics, rituals, and tensions that will later define markets. Just think of it as an art radar, quietly scanning the horizon, detecting signals long before they become market noise.

Art doesn’t just reflect culture. It builds future relevance.

It may matter for some more than others, but in any case, tastes evolve fast. Rituals shift while identity signals intensify. Subcultures rewrite themselves in short circles. Most importantly, consumers continuously upgrade their expectations emotionally, ethically, and experientially. Hence, operational excellence alone can’t keep up.

This is why art doesn’t just inspire but fosters brands. It sharpens intuition where data lags. It challenges inherited assumptions and reveals blind spots before they become lost market share. Brands that engage with art thinking don’t just refresh campaigns but rewire how they see value, growth, and meaning.

Applies seriously, such an artistic approach can transform a business from scratch by reshaping how problems are framed, how innovation begins, how products communicate, and how brands position themselves in culture, not just on shelves and in outlets. It replaces incremental optimization with the original perspective.

Most organizations only recognize cultural drift when innovation stalls, campaigns lose momentum, or pricing power weakens. By then, relevance has already eroded. The future doesn’t belong to the loudest brands but to those who let art lead and business follow.

@ MoMA Mart 2026

Where or how to start? We happily bridge the gap as a trusted external catalyst: swift to engage, and clear in perspective. We translate insight into action and shape ventures together with you that turn your cultural advantage into enduring business strength. We look forward to talking about your future legacy.

Yours truly,

Margot

MDA sidenote: MoMA is turning grocery shopping into playful art with MoMA Mart, a winter pop-up at its SoHo and Midtown Design Stores, running 7^th January to 29^th March 2026. Shelves are stocked with everyday objects reimagined as food-tomato-shaped lamps, pizza clocks, and sculptural vases, blurring the line between art, humor, and utility. All items are for sale in-store and online, with proceeds supporting MoMA’s exhibitions and educational programs. Maybe Lucy Sparrow’s mart – last seen at an U.S. museum, which felt like an ode to 1980s supermarkets at Scope Art Show during Art Miami – served as inspiration. Who knows? Asking a friend.