Derrick Adams - (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The highly anticipated first monograph on one of the most celebrated American contemporary artists

Through portraits, social scenes, photographs, sculptures, and immersive installations, Derrick Adams has developed an artistic practice that jocundly visualizes modern Black American life.

Equally informed by popular culture as he is by the history of modern art, Adams's work brings the everyday experiences of Black Americans to the forefront, capturing fashionable moments of joy, resilience, and celebration. His artworks are filled with color, energy, and complexity, whether they depict intimate, everyday moments or grand, sweeping statements.

Adams's first-ever monograph includes 150 of the most significant works from his thirty-year career, along with four newly commissioned texts from cultural luminaries. Filled with beautifully reproduced images and presented in a cloth case with a painting tipped onto the front cover, this stunning book establishes Derrick Adams as one of the most important figurative artists working today.

Review Quotes

'...a beautiful, fuller, and necessary documentation of Black life, hope, creativity, and joy. It is both a source of pride and a tool of cultural memory.'- New York Amsterdam News

'...highlighting the vibrant energy of his work and the breadth of his practice through 150 of his pieces.'- Print Magazine

'There's joy, leisure and resilience in everyday experiences and self-reflection, with a little humor on board.'- The Associated Press

'[S]urveys more than two decades of Adams' geometric paintings, made in his signature multihued, faceted style.' - Colossal

'This book, presenting 150 of his most significant works to date alongside important scholarship, establishes him as one of the most important American artists working today.' - Create Magazine

'. . . a richly layered portrait of an artist who has reshaped the visual language of our time.' - Dream Art Machine

'A celebration and an essential reference.' - Daily Art Magazine

'A vivid celebration of Black joy, style, and everyday life across three decades of visionary art.' - Hasty Book List

'Surveys the full richness of the New York artist's twenty-five-year career.' - Gagosian Quarterly

'A vibrant celebration' - Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Derrick Adams is an American visual and performance artist and curator. Much of his work is centred around his Black identity, frequently referencing patterns, images, and themes of Black culture in the USA.

Hallie Ringle is Daniel and Brett Sundheim Chief Curator at the ICA Philadelphia.

Salamishah Tillet is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and the Henry Rutgers Professor of African American Studies and Creative Writing at Rutgers University.

Dexter Wimberly is an independent curator and the founder and director of the Hayama Artist Residency in Japan.

Sandra Jackson-Dumont is former Director and CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.