COLUMBIA

Rick Erickson's Private Collection at the AGM!

By Donna Partridge

‘The Annual General Meeting of the Potters Guild of BC will be held
this year at the home of Vancouver businessman and art collector, Rick
Erickson. Rick has offered us his home at 1819 Dunbar St., a 1918
Craftsman Style house he refinished in 1998. He will also guide us
through his extensive collection of contemporary art.

Having been born and raised in Vancouver in the 1950s, Rick
Erickson witnessed the demolition of much of the city’s historical
architecture and artifacts to make way for what was termed ‘progress.’
Inspired by his love of collecting, his passion for preservation and his
close friendships with many artists and craftspeople, he began what has
become a lifelong support of the arts and culture in British Columbia.
It seems his real motivation has been the people and their stories.

Rick began his foray into the arts in 1984 when he co-owned The
Montgomery Café, one of the first restaurant/galleries in the city which
gave a venue to many fledgling artists. It was a place where punk and
counter culture met. With (now notable) visual artist Paul Wong as its
original art curator, the Montgomery became the birthplace of a new
scene in media art. During this period, Rick befriended and collected
the work of many local artists such as Joe Average, Jim Cummings
(a.k.a. I, Braineater), and Attila Richard Lukacs.

Rick’s exposure to international contemporary artists such as Andy
Warhol, Yoko Ono, Helmut Newton and Rauchenberg came about in
the 1980s when, along with a business partner, he traded art through
auctions in London, England.

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Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - May 2009

Rick Erickson proudly displays Laura McKibbon cups made to
commemorate the completion of his treehouse, perched 80 feet in
the air.

At the same time as he was operating the café, Rick also owned and
operated an antique business and traveled through the U.S., Asia and
Europe purchasing, refinishing and auctioning works. His collection
of unique objects, including animal bones, grew substantially during
this time. (If you're squeamish, consider yourself warned.)

Now as a property owner, Rick Erickson is dedicated to refurbishing
character buildings to their original heritage status and was honoured
with an award from the City of Vancouver for his restoration of the
Williams block at 7th Ave. and Main Street.

Erickson continues to support the visual arts in Vancouver and across
Canada through his involvement with the Vancouver Art Gallery, the
Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, and the Western Front Society.
Most recently, he assisted Native Canadian artists, and friends, David
Neil and Rebecca Belmore as they represented Canada in Venice at the
Art Biennale.

We hope you will take this unique opportunity to tour Rick’s
collection of art, artifacts and curios after our AGM. From the 1027
pound black marlin he caught off the Australian coast to an entire
room dedicated to the work of Eric Metcalfe, it’s guaranteed to be a

collection with something of interest to everyone.