Join Whitewall in getting to know the Dallas art community’s most visionary collectors. Leaders of the city’s cultural and not-for-profit realms speak about the artists in their collections who are creating new, inclusive worlds, and who delve deeply into the human experience.
Grace Cook
Co-Chair of the Dallas Museum of Art’s Junior Associates; Vice Chair of Development for The Arts Community Alliance
Portrait courtesy of Grace Cook.
Grace Cook is committed to strengthening Dallas’s cultural and nonprofit sectors through leadership, fundraising, and strategic connections. As Co-Chair of the Dallas Museum of Art’s Junior Associates and Vice Chair of Development for TACA (The Arts Community Alliance), she works to engage donors, expand programming, and secure critical support for the arts and conservation.
WHITEWALL: Can you share a recent acquisition you’re excited about?
GRACE COOK: One of the pieces I’m most excited about right now is a massive 96-by-36-inch painting by Bobby Miller titled Finding Sound II. Bobby is a local artist and an emerging force in the contemporary scene whose work lives at the intersection of movement, music, and memory. He’s also a curator, writer, and co-founder of Perspective 6—an artist-run space in Dallas dedicated to supporting emerging artists and broadening the conversation around contemporary art. He’s not just building a practice—he’s building a world.
When I first saw Finding Sound II, I stared at it—really stared. It pulled something up in me that felt settled and urgent all at once. And because I knew immediately that it was right, I kept trying to look away. It felt like I was staring into something that already understood exactly where I was. I left the gallery, but the painting followed me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I had to have it—I reached out to Bobby, knowing I’d figure out the wall space later.
Getting to know Bobby and the story behind the piece only made the pull stronger. The painting came out of a moment of static in his studio, broken open by a song—”Brangelina” by Tep No. That rhythm unlocked something, and it moved through him and onto the canvas. Music became motion. Emotion became texture. One art form reviving another—urgency restored, direction reclaimed. I’ve ultimately chosen this piece for my ranch in North Texas—where the skies are wide, the storms roll in fast, and the landscape commands without asking. I imagine it there not as decor, but as something that echoes the openness and clarity of that place—belonging to the land as much as it does to me. It reminds me of one of those storms that knows exactly where it’s going.
Getting to know Bobby—and understanding what this work represented in his own creative process—deepened my relationship to the piece. His approach to art is expansive: painting, writing, curating, and community-building all inform how he moves through the world. And that kind of multidimensional energy is embedded in the piece. It’s as bold as it is vulnerable.
And yes—ever since buying it, I’ve found myself listening to a lot more Tep No. It’s funny how one painting can change how you hear everything else.
WW: What is your advice for aspiring collectors, just getting started?
GC: Forget the checklist—start with the piece that embeds itself in your mind like a lyric you didn’t know you needed. The one you keep circling back to, unsure why, but unable to shake. It doesn’t have to be big or expensive or even immediately understood. If it makes you pause—if it unsettles you, or shifts not just what you see, but how you see or question the world—then it’s already doing its job.
My taste really shifted when I started spending time at the Cedars Union, a collaborative artist incubator in Dallas that provides studio space and mentorship for emerging creatives. It’s one thing to see finished work on a wall—it’s another to witness the quiet, vulnerable moments of the process. Being in that space, surrounded by in-progress ideas and open conversations, made the whole act of collecting feel more human. Less about having something, and more about being in relationship with the work as it takes shape.
I’ve walked away from pieces that still echo in my mind years later—there was a Richard Serra I passed up in Aspen that I still think about. It’s become a kind of ghost in my collection—one I never owned but somehow still lives with me. That absence has shaped how I think about presence: about the pieces I do live with, and why they matter. My grandmother always said: if you love it, don’t wait. Buy it—because it might not be there tomorrow. She was right. But I’ve also learned that loving something doesn’t always mean you fully understand it yet. Sometimes it’s the slower pieces—the ones that unfold in layers over time—that change you the most, precisely because they ask more of you at first.
You’re not just building a collection—you’re shaping the emotional architecture of your home. Every piece shifts the energy of a space and starts a new conversation: between the art and the space, between the artist’s intention and your own point of view, and eventually, between the works themselves. That’s what makes even a so-called “hodgepodge” collection feel vital—it’s always in motion, always full of dialogue.
“You’re not just building a collection—you’re shaping the emotional architecture of your home,”
Grace Cook
Mine is definitely a hodgepodge—but I love my pieces, and I live with them. I never buy with the idea of reselling. These are works I want to live with for the rest of my life, just like my grandmother did with her pieces. They’re not trophies. They’re a way of making sense of life. They reflect where I’ve been, what I’ve felt, and the questions I’m still asking.
Artists’ openness reminds me that collecting is as much about curiosity as it is about taste. Follow them on social media, ask questions, notice how they talk about their process—not just what they make, but how and why. These small exchanges build something over time. They remind you that collecting isn’t just about what’s on the wall. It’s about entering into a larger ecosystem—of dialogue, of support, of mutual shaping. That’s what gives a collection its pulse.
John T. Sughrue
CEO of Brook Partners, Inc
Portrait courtesy of John Sughrue.
Summer Wheat, “Housewife with Houseplant (Dark),” 2024; Courtesy of the artist and Soco Gallery.
John T. Sughrue is CEO of Brook Partners, Inc., a full-service development, investment, and advisory firm. Since its inception, Brook Partners has been involved in development projects exceeding $1 billion. Mr. Sughrue created the Fashion Industry Gallery (FIG), the contemporary high-end wholesale fashion boutique which inspired hundreds of fashion lines to relocate to the Arts District of Downtown Dallas.
His partnering with the iconic Texas Chef Stephan Pyles, in his eponymous 10,000-square-foot restaurant established five-star dining in the Arts District. Brook Partners produces the Dallas Art Fair, a best-of-breed international art fair hosted at FIG now celebrating its 17th year. Brook also developed Museum Tower, a 42-story luxury condominium high-rise in the Dallas Arts District.
WHITEWALL: Can you share a recent acquisition you’re excited about?
JOHN T. SUGHRUE: At the 25th celebration of the Rachofsky-championed epic TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art event, Marlene and I acquired Housewife with Houseplant (Dark) (2024) by Summer Wheat. She is an artist whose work we first encountered at the Dallas Art Fair in 2017 at Andrew Edlin’s booth. It was also the first year of our Dallas Art Fair Foundation / Dallas Museum of Art Acquisition Fund. The fund was led at the time by Gavin Delahunty, who championed her work, and the fund acquired her piece for the DMA. Ever since, we followed her very distinctive work, which, as it evolved, introduced fantastical color. We coveted her work for years now and consider Housewife to be a master work. Summer Wheat’s work can be found at SOCO Gallery in Charlotte, and we are happy to welcome the gallery back to the 2025 edition of the Dallas Art Fair.
WW: What is your advice for aspiring collectors, just getting started?
JTS: Collecting is a lifelong passion. Take your time and enjoy the process. That process should include discovery at every step of the way. Talk to dealers, meet artists, befriend an art advisor, attend museum shows, join your local museum, share your thoughts with friends… and attend the Dallas Art Fair! Get involved, ask questions, and be fearless in your discovery process.
“Collecting is a lifelong passion. Take your time and enjoy the process,”
John T. Sughrue
Dealers at the Dallas Art Fair constantly comment that our collector audience asks good questions and is great at listening. Dallas is a very relationship-driven community, and that our dealers are engaged in robust conversations with our collectors is no surprise to me. To learn, you must engage and listen, and collecting is a lifelong exercise in discovery and learning. That’s why Marlene and I love collecting. We love to be engaged in discovery.
Kaleta Blaffer Johnson
Founder of Fortuna Consulting
Portrait courtesy of Kaleta Blaffer Johnson.
Kaleta Blaffer Johnson is the founder of Fortuna Consulting, a boutique fundraising company that she launched after a decade of working in the political finance world. Kaleta graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a degree in International Politics. Her experience includes major donor fundraising for political candidates and PACs as well as extensive fundraising experience in the Arts and the nonprofit world. Kaleta currently serves on the Executive Board of the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston, an institution her great-grandmother founded in 1973, and co-chaired their 50th Anniversary Gala in 2023. Kaleta previously served on the Board of Dallas Contemporary and co-chaired the 2019 Dallas Contemporary Gala. A proud seventh generation Texan, Kaleta currently splits her time between Dallas, Houston and New York City where she is serving on the Benefit Committee for the newly-reopened Frick Collection’s Young Fellows Ball in May.
WHITEWALL: Can you share a recent acquisition you’re excited about?
KALETA BLAFFER JOHNSON: I was at Paris Photo in November and discovered the fabulous works of Thomas Devaux at the Galerie Bacqueville booth. Thomas has a series of works on dichroic glass with pigment print and gold leaf that are strikingly reflective and had many viewers stopped in their tracks. I came home with a gorgeous piece from the Shoppers series that shows the reflection of a young woman looking into the window of a store. The glow of the dichroic glass gives the image a hypnotic aura that draws you in and captures your attention and leaves you contemplating what this young woman is thinking.
WW: What is your advice for aspiring collectors, just getting started?
KBJ: Buy pieces that you love and want to live with and admire every day. I try to attend as many fairs and exhibit openings as possible to train my eye and learn about what’s being created. There’s nothing more exciting than the fresh discovery of a new artist you love.
“There’s nothing more exciting than the fresh discovery of a new artist you love,”
Kaleta Blaffer Johnson
I’m honored to serve on the Host Committee for Dallas Art Fair which is one of my favorite events of the year in Dallas and where I’ve met so many wonderful gallerists and artists. I love attending the Preview Benefit on Thursday night and then returning throughout the weekend—I discover something I didn’t notice before every time I go back.
Mark Giambrone
Executive Director, Head of U.S. Equities, Portfolio Manager at Barrow Hanley Global Investors
Portrait courtesy of Mark Giambrone.
Mark Giambrone joined Barrow Hanley in 1999. Prior to joining Barrow Hanley, Mr. Giambrone served as a portfolio consultant at HOLT Value Associates. During his career, he has also served as a senior auditor/tax specialist for KPMG Peat Marwick and Ernst & Young Kenneth Leventhal. Giambrone graduated summa cum laude from Indiana University with a BS in Business and received an MBA from the University of Chicago. He has served as a devoted Dallas Contemporary museum board member, and is a visionary art collector.
WHITEWALL: Can you share a recent acquisition you’re excited about?
MARK GIAMBRONE: I am very excited about a piece I recently acquired from the artist Teresita Fernández. I have been following her work for years through the Lehman Maupin gallery program and am truly amazed by the depth and diversity of her work and was fortunate enough to see a recent exhibition and to meet her at Site Santa Fe. Her use of differing material to represent landscapes that for me have a visceral feel and a stunning visual palate makes her work a joy to interact and live with.
WW: What is your advice for aspiring collectors, just getting started?
MG: I would make a few suggestions to budding collectors (as I still consider myself one) Always buy what you love, always, and what you are excited to have in your environment. But also give yourself the grace to recognize that as time goes on your taste and palate can change and be open to exploring that change over time. Also, when possible, get to know the artist.
“When possible, get to know the artist,”
Mark Giambrone
Their perspectives and passion can be truly inspiring and magical and clearly give you a deeper appreciation for their approach and their passion.
Carl D. Thoma
Art Collector, Philanthropist, and Managing Partner and Founder of Thoma Bravo, LLC.
Portrait courtesy of Carl & Marilynn Thoma (John Smith – Patron Magazine) .
Carl D. Thoma is an art collector, philanthropist, and managing partner and founder of Thoma Bravo, LLC. An early player in the field of venture capital beginning with Golder, Thoma in 1980, Carl has applied his eye for entrepreneurial talent to collecting modern and contemporary paintings, and most recently in the fields of digital art and light & space.
In his chosen profession, Carl has been acknowledged in The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Fortune for his investment leadership. He has chaired the National Venture Capital Association. Carl is co-proprietor of Van Duzer Vineyards, an 80-acre estate winery in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, that produces world class Pinot Noir. He is currently on the Boards of the Hirshhorn Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, McKnight Center for the Performing Arts, the Terra Foundation for American Art, and SITE Santa Fe. Carl Thoma earned his bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University and his MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
WHITEWALL: Can you share a recent acquisition you’re excited about?
CARL D. THOMA: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer‘s Shadow Turner (2024).
WW: What is your advice for aspiring collectors, just getting started?
CDT: Be curious and acquire artwork that excites and inspires you.
“Be curious and acquire artwork that excites and inspires you,”
Carl D. Thoma
Educate yourself on art market trends but your acquisition decision should lead you to artwork you are passionate about. Meet the artists and visit their studios to learn about their vision and process.
