MEET ARTWELOVE COLLECTOR: RICK WEBB

Sunny Greetings from New York ArtWeLove Collectors,

Welcome to the second installment of one of our most popular FIRST VIEW features: Collector Stories!

With Collector Stories, you get intimate portraits of incredible ARTWELOVE collectors. Collectors like you. Collectors like Rick Webb.

Monsieur Webb comes way west of New York harbor... by way of Alaska... with a pitstop in Boston... where he founded (along with Benjamin Palmer) The Barbarian Group, the web agency responsible for the infamous Subservient Chicken.

Rick is my favorite type of collector: the independent, culturally curious kind who follows his interests and passion, rather than the mode du jour. And he's got an artistic inclination too: He had his own rock band at one point and is the owner of record label Archenemy.

Unsurprisingly, Rick’s artistic inclinations have led him to collecting edgy, personal works from a diverse pool of artists. Among his ArtWeLove editions are some of Art in America’s favorites: works by Stephane Couturier, Jorge Otero-Pailos, and Luisa Rabbia--all of which were featured in the prestigious magazine’s recent ArtWeLove feature!

Read on for his answers to our rather Proustian questions about art.

What do you do for a living?
I co-founded a digital marketing company called The Barbarian Group and work as their COO.

Why do you buy art / collect?
I have this sort of obsession with saving the things that are under-appreciated or people are forgetting about. And I love art. The two intersect in a weird area where I collect Art from forgotten or under-appreciated artists.

What was your first art piece?
Stuff from friends and acquaintances at first. The first piece was a 3' by 5' acrylic on unstretched canvas with a very Baconesqe feel to it.

If you could own any piece of art, what would it be?
Ha. Oh god. Too many. Probably something that would fit in my apartment and isn't too susceptible to theft. Maybe a small Rossetti or Burne-Jones. Those Pre-Raphaelites did small canvases well.

Which artist do you admire?
Only one? If it's only one, probably Duchamp. Technical mastery, satire, commentary, and a sense of perspective enough to retire.

Which gallery, museum, or art-related space makes you the happiest?
Rothko Chapel, Houston, Texas. Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, swoon, and so so serene.

What quality do you most admire in a piece of art?
Affordability, emotion, and a small size.

What artwork would you love to see in person?
Smithson's Spiral Jetty.

Pen or pencil?
Pen. Bravery.

Abstract or Pop Art?
Abstract. A balm to my day job.

Dark or milk chocolate?
Dark. For my girl.

Want to hear more Collector Stories and know about our weekly new releases? Join our First View newsletter to get the latest stories and news on all our editions.

Works from Rick's Collection

Kate by Servane Mary
Archival pigment print
$50 (13.2 x 11 inches)

$100 (19.4 x 16 inches)

$250 (24.3 x 20 inches)
Collect Now

Travel Scrapbooks 1883/2008, 2 by Luisa Rabbia
Archival pigment print
$50 (7.8 x 14 inches)
Collect Now

Visit Luisa Rabbia's studio