Vancouver art scene legend Ken Gerberick sadly passed away in January 2021. Ken had been an assemblage artist and automotive historian in Vancouver since 1984. I met Ken and photographed him in his studio space at 268 Keefer Street as part of my Vancouver Artists in Studio portrait project. Despite being a living legend in the Vancouver art scene, Ken was as humble and patient a photo subject as one could hope for—a pleasure to work with and a gentleman through and through. Ken’s work and artist roots go back to the late 1960s and he was featured in McLean’s Magazine, the Globe & Mail, the Georgia Straight and several documentary films. Shortly after Ken’s passing I was honoured to be asked to photograph Ken’s collection and museum space in Vancouver’s Railtown. I’ve included a number of these photos below with permission of Ken’s partner Janis.
Pictured here in 2018 Ken is holding a Northwest Territories license plate from his collection of over 1000 plates, which he recovered from the ashes of his first Vancouver studio—KRAK Studio—which burned down in 2004. “It’s one of only a few things I still have from that time,” said Ken.