Rick Midler 

Rick Midler is a Brooklyn-based artist and award-winning creative director whose work explores pattern, perception, and the layered nature of visual experience. His collage practice draws on a deep appreciation for decorative papers across cultures, combining them into compositions that reveal unexpected imagery and connections. Alongside his fine art practice, Midler has spent over 15 years as a creative force in advertising, including serving as an Executive Creative Director at BBDO New York, where he worked with globally recognized brands such as Snickers, M&M’s, FedEx, AT&T, and Pizza Hut. His work has earned numerous honors, including an Emmy, Clios, One Show, Effies, and Cannes Lions. Midler’s artwork has been exhibited internationally, including in New York and Paris, where his large-scale collages continue to evolve in complexity and scope.

ABOUT ON THE RECORD

Brooklyn-based artist Rick Midler transforms vintage vinyl records into richly layered mixed- media collages that translate music into visual form. The work is rooted in a lifelong connection to music—both as a fan and as a musician who toured with the band The Bulletproof Lincolns. Combining digital composition with hand-cut, analog collage, Midler integrates iconic rock imagery with finely curated decorative papers to create one-of-a-kind works. He approaches collage the way a musician builds a track: repeated shapes and colors act like loops and layers of sound, creating rhythm through visual composition. The process is both exploratory and meditative, turning the act of making into a way of reconnecting with the music that inspires each piece. Created for fans and art collectors alike, every work is unique, with commissions available for those seeking interpretations of their favorite artists.