Collier said he surprised his staff and the center's board of trustees with last week's announcement of his departure. The sculptor-turned-administrator will be 60 in November and hopes to spend more time in his Salt Lake City home studio, making art.

"Nobody had anything to do with the decision except for me," Collier said Friday. "The stability of the organization is a lot stronger than when I first got here. The staff is really strong, and the board is really strong. I leave on a high note, and that's the best way."

The longest-tenured director the center has ever known, Collier arrived in Salt Lake City in 1996 from San Antonio, where he ran the Southwest Craft Center. Under his leadership, the Salt Lake Art Center largely eschewed pretty pictures in favor of more challenging shows on abstraction, hospice care and courtroom politics.

During Collier's tenure, the center grew its operating budget from about $400,000 to more than $1 million while partnering with such Utah nonprofits as Utah Symphony & Opera, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Pickle Co. and the grass-roots 337 Project. Among the artists whose works he championed were Jun Kaneko, Bill Viola, Sophie Matisse, Cris Bruch, Robert Taplin, Lee Deffebach, Robert Motherwell, Kazuo Kadonaga and Andy Warhol.

Collier's resignation will become effective Oct. 19. The center's board of trustees will announce an interim director soon before launching a nationwide search for Collier's successor.

"Ric's enthusiasm, energy, warmth and vision will be greatly missed," said Salt Lake Art Center Board President Erik Christiansen. "Ric has been the heart of the Art Center for the last 11 years, and he has left an indelible and lasting imprint on contemporary art and culture in Salt Lake City."

griggs@sltrib.com