Artist spotlight: Derrick Adams
Derrick Adams, Boy on Swan Float, 2020. Woodblock, screenprint, fabric, and collage.
© 2020 Derrick Adams
© 2020 Derrick Adams
Derrick Adams, Interior Life (Man), 2019. Pigment print on Hotpress.
© 2019 Derrick Adams
© 2019 Derrick Adams
Derrick Adams has a prolific art practice that spans performance, painting, collage, sculpture, drawing and video. His work examines the influence of popular culture on identity. And he consistently questions and explores how the experiences of African Americans intersect with consumerism, art history, and American iconography.
The fun yet formidable pairing of Interior Life (Man) & (Woman) is from the Deconstruction Worker series by Derrick Adams. The ongoing series, begun in 2011, is continually inspired by the people Adams encounters on the streets of Brooklyn, New York, where he lives and works. The primary theoretic concept that grounds this work is Deconstruction: the exploration of how knowledge and meaning are constructed. Adams once said, “Everything that we are is based on a specific construction.” The idea of various forces shaping one’s self-image comes through in his work via the patchwork of colors and layered patterns that make up the figures’ faces. This treatment creates the sense that the figures are in the process of being built and taken apart. The titles, “Interior Life,” allude to the inner life of the two figures. While we get a glimpse of their personalities through their playful fashion sense, the ‘invisible force of the soul’ is revealed, too, through the deliberately fragmentary construction of these figures.
The fun yet formidable pairing of Interior Life (Man) & (Woman) is from the Deconstruction Worker series by Derrick Adams. The ongoing series, begun in 2011, is continually inspired by the people Adams encounters on the streets of Brooklyn, New York, where he lives and works. The primary theoretic concept that grounds this work is Deconstruction: the exploration of how knowledge and meaning are constructed. Adams once said, “Everything that we are is based on a specific construction.” The idea of various forces shaping one’s self-image comes through in his work via the patchwork of colors and layered patterns that make up the figures’ faces. This treatment creates the sense that the figures are in the process of being built and taken apart. The titles, “Interior Life,” allude to the inner life of the two figures. While we get a glimpse of their personalities through their playful fashion sense, the ‘invisible force of the soul’ is revealed, too, through the deliberately fragmentary construction of these figures.
Derrick Adams, Interior Life (Woman), 2019. Pigment print on Hotpress.
© 2019 Derrick Adams
© 2019 Derrick Adams
Boy on Swan Float, above, belongs to a group of artworks by Derrick Adams, collectively titled the Floaters. Vibrantly colored and delightfully playful, the series depicts Black Americans enjoying a leisurely day at the pool: relaxing on plastic floaties, sipping summer drinks, and chatting and laughing with friends. These artworks illustrate what Adams refers to as “Black Radical Joy.” The series of artworks acknowledges and celebrates the human need for relaxation, rest, and enjoyment, a vital part of happy healthy lives, for all.
Adams goes beyond simply creating art; he has created extensive programming and support for other Black artists. For Adams, community is essential to his existence, and social involvement is tied to his work.
Adams goes beyond simply creating art; he has created extensive programming and support for other Black artists. For Adams, community is essential to his existence, and social involvement is tied to his work.