Art Lovers Forum Podcast

The minute I met Grace Hopkins at the Berta Walker Gallery in Provincetown, MA, I knew I wanted to interview her for Art Lovers Forum. She is deeply involved in the art world, and I felt she could teach me so much. I was so right.

For most of the year, Grace is the director of the Berta Walker Gallery, one of the most respected in PTown. She loves working for Berta who has a strong understanding of art, and the business of art, af...

Welcome to Art Lovers Forum. There’s a nonprofit art organization that’s quietly becoming a global force — using creativity to stand up for Israel and to fight antisemitism.

It’s called Art World for Israel, and I have to thank artist Dahlia Dreszer for introducing me to its incredible founder, Ariel Penzer.

Ariel told me that since the attacks on Israel on October 7th, 2023, too many Jewish artists have faced online harassment ...

Today I’m thrilled to introduce you to Michele Landel, an American textile artist who lives and works in Sèvres, France. We actually met two years ago during Christmas when she and her husband, Greg, were vacationing in his parents’ Miami apartment — which, by coincidence, happens to be in my condo building. When Greg’s mother learned that my husband, Eliot, and I are art collectors, she said, “You have to meet Michele!”

A few day...

Donnalynn Patakos, editor-in-chief of Portray Magazine, opens this episode with profound insights on how to create the best life possible. She shares her perspective on navigating the art world, choosing the right life partner, and—perhaps most importantly—how you see yourself. And she speaks from experience: Donnalynn is living the kind of life that many art lovers dream about. Her most inspi...

Tom Huth is the retired principal of Thomas R. Huth Architects in Newton, MA, a practice he founded in 1982. I always wanted to ask Tom if there really was a difference between artists and architects. It took Tom three seconds to answer me. “I consider myself an artist who does architecture for a living. Both professions require a devoted commitment because it’s very difficult to achieve a vision, I love it because it’s so rewardi...

We bought our first Francie Bishop Good sculpture from the Mindy Solomon gallery, Miami, in 2023. It was the  “Walking in Circles,” piece made from wood and ceramic with Synthetic polymer paints. 16" x 16" x 7”.  We wanted it because you couldn’t tell if it was a piece of art or a dining  accessory. It was whimsical and daring.    Now that I know Francie I feel so lucky to own a sculpture that makes you stop and stare. We loved it...

I wanted to interview David Mikesell of Gross Pointe Farms, MI, for quite some  time now. At 88 years old, he can teach us a few things about life, especially why art makes him happy.  After 36 years in labor law management at Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn in Detroit, David decided to devote his retirement years to creating all kinds of art. His art is daring, colorful, modern, and thought-...

Welcome to Art Lovers Forum.  Today we spotlight the bold, electrifying work of Cuban-American artist Alex Núñez, whose newest installation at the Faena Art Project Room in Miami Beach is a must-see this summer.

Titled “There’s a Gator in the Pool,” this site-specific immersive experience isn’t just art—it’s a full-bod...

Welcome to Art Lovers Forum, where today’s episode might just blow the doors off everything you thought you knew about motorsports and contemporary art.

I’m thrilled to introduce two visionary women who are rewriting the rules of both industries: Zoë Barry and Spring McManus. Together, they’re launching DART Car—a revolutionary platform that fuses high-p...

Have you noticed the shift? A whole new generation of gallerists is emerging around the world—and they’re transforming how we experience art. Gone are the days of cold, intimidating gallery spaces that left first-time visitors feeling unwelcome. Today’s gallerists are opening their doors—and their minds—to a new kind of collector. They’re making art more accessible, more personal, and more social...

Today’s guest is someone who quite literally lives between worlds—both geographically and creatively.

Leslie Moody Castro is an independent art curator and writer who splits her time between Austin, Texas, and Mexico City, a rhythm she’s kept for over twenty years. Her practice is deeply rooted in movement, collaboration, and conversation—whether across borders, between disciplines, or within communities.

For nearly two decades, L...

I have never met an artist as exuberant as Dahlia Dreszer. She is so passionate about her work that she throws concerts, discussions, and special speaking engagements just to gather important collectors together with like-minded people. She recently built an immersive environmental experience in the gallery, Green Space, in Miami. The title of the show, “Bringing the Outside In,” is all about transforming elaborate garden installa...

Dave Ross is living a life in the art world that most people would love to have. He went from a top-ranking Wall Street analyst to a promising abstract painter who is receiving very positive reviews from collectors. My husband and I bought two paintings from Dave that we adore, one of them is an absolute favorite.

Dave is what I call a free spirit who believes in the art of the possible. He surrounds himself with people who are as...

There are so many extraordinary stories to the life of Miami gallerist Mindy Solomon that I just don’t know where to begin this introduction to Art Lovers Forum. She says you can pretty much follow her life by the ceramics she’s collected over the years and the ones she exhibits in her gallery. Most of them tell a story that parallels her life.

I keep thinking of the one where Mindy basically closes down her art career in St. Pete...

Leon Ford is an author and activist who wants to open a non-profit art gallery in Pittsburgh that showcases powerful works but also serves as a hub for community connection and dialogue. Leon has real life experience to make this happen. When he was 19 years old in 2012, Leon was shot five times by a Pittsburgh police officer as he was racially profiled during a case of mistaken identity. He has been paralyzed ever since. 

He is a...

I met Graham Wilson, the founder of Swivel Gallery in New York City, for the first time a few weeks ago at the Material Art Fair in Mexico City. I have been hearing positive news about the four year old gallery from a few art collectors recently and got curious how Graham functions in such a competitive market as New York.

I think once you hear his interview in Art Lovers Forum you will get a life lesson we all seem to forget espe...

Marc Wehby needs no introduction to people who love to collect art. He and his wife Susie Kravetz, both owners of Kravetz/Wehby in NYC for the last 26 years, have been major influencers in the purchasing of art for both new and experienced collectors.

In fact, Marc told me that many older collectors are now focusing on emerging artists because they like the work being produced. He said that folks with extensive collections feel th...