Gardy St. Fleur

Gardy St. Fleur is a Haitian-born, Brooklyn-based art advisor and collector. He runs the advisory and management firm Saint Fleur Fine Art. As a child, his father collected the work of Haitian masters and commissioned local artists. In 2021, Vanity Fair referred to St. Fleur as “the NBA’s Go-To Art Adviser."https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/03/gardy-st-fleur-interview
== Career ==
Raised in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, St. Fleur’s interest in collecting art began when he was 14. His first professional role in the art world was in the studio of artist William Villalongo, followed by a job in business development at Christie’s Collectrium, a tech-company for art collection management under the umbrella of the auction house Christie’s. Villalongo then introduced St. Fleur to Peggy Cooper Cafritz, the high profile collector, philanthropist, and civil rights activist known for her collection of work by African American artists, who became St. Fleur’s first private client. “Peggy wanted me to find great emerging artists of color for her,” he told Robb Report, citing artists Eric Mack and Tschabalala Self as examples.https://robbreport.com/shelter/art-collectibles/nba-art-advisor-gardy-st-fleur-1234608399/ https://www.christies.com/en/services/collectrium Since then, St. Fleur has become what a 2021 article in Vanity Fair referred to as “the NBA’s Go-To Art Adviser,” noting that his clientele include a number of current and former NBA stars, including Kyrie Irving, Courtney Lee, Caris LeVert, Ronnie Price, Jerryd Bayless, and Deron Williams, and The New York Times also notes that he was worked as an adviser to further star athletes including P. J. Tucker, Alonzo Mourning, and former Yankees pitcher C. C. Sabathia.https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/08/sports/basketball/nba-artists-collectors-players.html St. Fleur is also known as a champion of Black artists, is known as a is involved in Le Centre d’Art, an art and education center based in Port-au-Prince. https://www.thearmoryshow.com/armory-live/events-2021/events/collecting-caribbean-art-connoisseurship-and-impact He has organized exhibitions of artists including Alma Thomas and has collaborated with the auction house Phillips to curate a sale to raise relief funds for Haiti. https://www.phillips.com/thecrossover https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/art-and-basketball-nyc-gallerys-unique-auction-to-benefit-haiti-relief-efforts/3290272/ https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2021/04/02/cultured-collections-with-gardy-st-fleur American ballet dancer Misty Copeland credits St. Fleur with building "a thriving community of collectors.” https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/03/gardy-st-fleur-interview
== Further Recognition ==
His personal art collection, which includes works by Tschabalala Self, Eric Mack, Kerry James Marshall, Vivian Springford, Ming Smith, Maren Hassinger, Kazuo Shiraga, and Peter Bradley and more, as well as works by a number of Caribbean artists, has also been written about in the media.https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/03/gardy-st-fleur-interviewhttps://www.thearmoryshow.com/armory-live/events-2021/events/collecting-caribbean-art-connoisseurship-and-impact
Category:Artists from Brooklyn
Category:Haitian people