Gardy St. Fleur & Josh Baer on Why Athletes Collect Art ahead of Atlanta Art Fair

If anyone can speak to the rising interest in art among sports stars, it's art advisor Gardy St. Fleur, whose education-first, community-centric approach has made him the person athletes call first. Over two decades, he's built a practice around studio visits rather than showrooms, working from a conviction Josh Baer heard about years ago from client John McEnroe: the artist alone with the work is in the same position as the player at center court, all the lights on you and nowhere to hide.

Gardy joins Josh ahead of the Atlanta Art Fair to talk about what players see in artists, what happens when preview PDFs stop working, and what they're each hoping to find on the ground in Atlanta.

00:00 Intro: Josh Baer and Gardy St. Fleur, ahead of Atlanta Art Fair

00:22 Who the new collectors are

01:45 John McEnroe: all the lights on you, nowhere to hide

02:50 Why galleries still make people feel unwelcome

05:00 Education before the transaction

08:00 Price points, and blowing past your own budget

10:35 Women and Black collectors reshaping the market

12:12 Keith Rivers and the same energy

13:33 Artists taking control of their careers

18:55 "Don't send me the PDFs"

20:15 One lunch a week, fifty a year

21:30 What they're looking for in Atlanta

22:15 Most galleries have a finite life

24:55 Amoako Boafo, and the mistake Josh says he made

29:05 See you October 1st in Atlanta

Atlanta Art Fair runs October 1–4, 2026 at Pullman Yards. For more information, visit theatlantaartfair.com. Recorded September 16, 2026, in partnership with Atlanta Art Fair.