In today’s financialized art world, it can be easy to feel as though works of art are increasingly being distilled down into numbers, like so many bits of greenish code in The Matrix. But numbers, when viewed in the proper context, don’t have to be dehumanizing. Instead, they can tell stories that indicate where a field is headed and empower participants to make smarter decisions that draw on both the analytical left brain and the aesthetically inclined right.

The inaugural artnet Intelligence Report embodies the belief that data—compiled here in close and creative partnership with the indispensable artnet Price Database team—doesn’t have to be dry and bloodless, but rather can be lively, illuminating, and even (to some casts of mind) entertaining.

The narratives within these pages provide sight lines into some of the most urgent challenges and opportunities in today’s art market, from the too-often-confounding rise of China to the hazards young artists face in a frenzied, flesh-eating auction climate.

An immersion in the data has made one thing clear: the art market, as a monolith, is a myth. Instead, there are many art markets operating at different frequencies and different levels, all at the same time. But in a notoriously opaque business, numbers offer us an opportunity to understand some of these markets a little bit better.

We hope you enjoy reading our inaugural report, and maybe even learn a new thing or two in the process. Head over here to download the report in full.