- Picaron Editions (since 1986)
In 1986 Rik Gadella started Picaron Editions, a publishing company dedicated to poetry, philosophy and art, followed by a gallery that opened in 1988 in collaboration with Peter Happel. In 1992 he moved to Paris and published many artists’ books with amongst others:
Jean-Charles Blais, James Brown, Markus Lüpertz, Robert Mangold, Robert Wilson, etc.
These books where exhibited in December 1997 at the Musée Matisse in Nice and can be found in major international collections such as: Centre George Pompidou, La Bibliothèque nationale de France, MOMA New York, The Whitney Museum and The New York Public Library. Since 1998 Picaron Editions published art magazines such as Paris Photo Magazine, XXe Century-Furniture and Objects, KAOS-Parcours des Mondes as well as several catalogs.

- ArtistBook International (1994-2007)
In 1994, Rik Gadella organized in Paris, ArtistBook International, the first international fair dedicated exclusively to artists’ books. The following editions where organized in New York 1995, Cologne 1996, New York 1997 and again in Paris from 2005 onwards.

- Paris Photo (1997-2005)
At the initiative of Rik Gadella, his company IPM organized in 1997 the first edition of Paris Photo, a fair dedicated to 19th Century, Modern and Contemporary Photography that became within two years the worlds foremost fair for photography. In 2002 Rik Gadella sold Paris Photo to Reed Exhibitions International and staid on as artistic director for three more years.
- XXe Siècle - Mobilier et Objets du XXe siècle (2002-2004)
July 1999, Rik Gadella invited 99 personalities from different horizons (politics, fashion, art) to participate at the exhibition The Object of Design : 99 objects for a Century,at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. This exhibition was followed in June 2002 by the first edition of the Design fair, XXe Siècle - Furniture and Objects of the 20th Century, which knew two editions.

- KAOS - Parcours des Mondes (2002-2007)
For the first time in 2002 the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quartier welcomed the most prestigious French and International galleries specialized in tribal arts at the initiative of Rik Gadella to coincide with the publication of the first issue of his magazine, KAOS-Parcours des Mondes.
This became the leading tribal art fair within two years and in 2007 was handed over to the publishers of the magazine Tribal Art.
Rik Gadella organized subsequent exhibitions with tribal arts, notably Identity, Beauty, Rank and Prestige, 2005 and ceci n’est pas une coiffe, 2006.

- Design d’en France (2004-2005)
Commissioned by the official French-China year program Rik Gadella curated (with Gilles de Bure) and organized a large retrospective exhibition on 20th century French Industrial Design, Fashion and Decorative Arts at the National Museum of Beijing for the state visit of President Jacques Chirac in October 2004. This exhibition subsequently travelled to Nanjin in 2005.

- Rik Gadella Consulting (since 2002)
Consulting for several private and government organizations, Rik Gadella conducts missions on cultural programming, event organization and the constitution of art collections.

- Member of the French-Dutch Cooperation Council (2003-2005)

- Since January 2008 lives and works in Luang Prabang, Laos
With a centre for botanical research, publications, cultural events, educational and social outreach programs and environmental consulting the many facets of the work Rik Gadella has undertaken until now will be reunited.  In five years the Pha Tad Ke Botanical Garden will open.