Reid Bricker: Art gallery showcases missing man's creative work

A small art gallery, hidden in the basement of an Exchange District building, is showcasing missing man Reid Bricker's art work. 

The studio, MISA Inc. is where Bricker spent countless hours himself over the years carving intricate stone sculptures. His hat still hangs in at workspace, along with the last stone-sculpture he had been carving, since he vanished Oct. 24.

"I still keep expecting him to come through the door," artist Jean Bachynsky told CBC News Friday.

Bachynsky taught Bricker in Grade 10 and the pair connected again a few years ago at the Albert St. studio where they both sculpt.

"The last time I had seen him, we'd shared lunch together. That's often stayed with me now," she said.

Bricker disappeared after leaving Health Sciences Centre at 3:20 a.m. He was under care for attempting suicide — it was his third attempt in ten days for the 33-year-old with a history of depression. He hasn't been seen since.

Bachynsky and fellow artist Tim Haughian along with Bricker's parents have set up a show dedicated to his work. It falls on "First Fridays", a favourite monthly event of Bricker's where Exchange District galleries open their doors to the public.

​"He's missed by all of us," Haughian said, adding Bricker had confided to him he was struggling with depression in the days leading up to his disappearance.

"One of the things depression does to a person is it makes them think they're all alone. So, in a way I guess what we're doing tonight is proving that he wasn't."

Artists and the Bricker family are handing out posters of Bricker at the art show to raise awareness he's still out there and they need him home. 

"He is an incredibly talented young man that [has] an awful lot to give this world. And I wish that he was back here continuing to make the world a more beautiful place with his art," said Haughian.

The art show runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at MISA Inc. at 62 Albert St.