First monograph surveying Derek Adams’ career released ahead of major exhibition – Colossal
Whether depicting families at play, people strolling city streets, or personal portraits, Derek Adams celebrates black identity and experience. His collage-like works are reminiscent of West African masks, relic figures, and other carved sculptures, highlighting scenes of contemporary daily life and leisure activities of African Americans.
A new monograph from Monacelli surveys more than two decades of Adams’ geometric paintings, created in his signature multi-tonal, multi-faceted style. Derek Adams is the first monograph to survey the artist’s entire career, tracing the evolution of his style and the recurring themes in his paintings. A statement from the publisher said his paintings capture “moments of joy, resilience and celebration.”
Divided into three sections—Channels, Signals, and Mirrors—the book highlights the artist’s explorations of representation, identity, and media. We also trace the evolution of his visual language, which he describes as “serious comic imagery,” and his “desire to see the black American experience reflected in art, partially correcting the dearth of such images in art history,” the publisher says. “At its core, Adams’ project was a resurgence of black imagery in art, an intention that is evident throughout the works in the book.”
release Derek Adams The foundation was laid for a survey of the artist’s mid-career work at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. title ViewfinderThe exhibition opens on April 16 and will present 150 works.
Derek Adams It is expected to be released on October 22nd. Pre-order your copy from the Colossal Shop and explore more on Adams’ website and Instagram.
