Derrick Adams is a Baltimore-born artist whose critically admired work spans painting, collage, printmaking, sculpture, performance, video, and sound installations.
Adams’ multidisciplinary practice explores the ways in which individuals’ ideals, aspirations, and personae become attached to specific objects, colors, textures, symbols, and ideologies. His work probes the influence of popular culture on the formation of self-image, and the relationship between man and monument as they coexist and embody one another. Adams is also deeply immersed in questions of how African American experiences intersect with art history, American iconography, and consumerism. Most notably in his “Floater” series, he portrays Black Americans at leisure, positing that respite itself is a political act when embraced by Black communities. The radicality of this position has materialized in Adams’ work across his "Deconstruction Worker," "Figure in the Urban Landscape," and "Beauty World" series.
In formal terms, Adams’ practice is rooted in Deconstructivist philosophies related to the fragmentation and manipulation of structure and surface, and the marriage of complex and improbable forms. His tendency to layer, hybridize, and collage not only images and materials, but also different types of sensory experiences, link the artist to an estimable lineage of pioneers ranging from Hannah Höch and Henri Matisse to William H. Johnson and Romare Bearden. In Adams’ art, the process can also be understood as an analog, as he once remarked: “Everything that we are is based on a specific construction.”
Adams received his M.F.A. from Columbia University and B.F.A. from Pratt Institute. He is an alumnus of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation’s Studio Program.
Adams is a recipient of a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Residency (2019), a Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship (2018), a Studio Museum Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize (2016), and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Award (2009). He has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including "Where I’m From — Derrick Adams" (2019) at The Gallery in Baltimore City Hall; "Derrick Adams: Sanctuary" (2018) at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; and "Derrick Adams: Transmission" (2018) at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver. Adams’ work has been presented in numerous important public exhibitions, including "Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth." (2019) at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati; "PERFORMA" (2015, 2013, and 2005); "The Shadows Took Shape" (2014) and "Radical Presence" (2013–14) at the Studio Museum in Harlem; "The Channel" (2012) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music; "Greater New York" (2005) at MoMA PS1; and "Open House: Working In Brooklyn" (2004) at the Brooklyn Museum.
Adams’ work resides in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the Birmingham Museum of Art.
Find original Derrick Adams art on 1stDibs.
$8,000Sale Price|20% Off
Good Luck Charm
By Derrick Adams
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: Derrick Adams Title: Good Luck Charm Year: 2021 Medium: Polyurethane and mixed media with original wooden case Dimensions: 6 3/10 × 11 1/50 × 6 3/10 in (16 × 28 × 16 cm) Edi...
Mixed Media
Derrick Adams Mirroring Idealism Wall Relief 2021 Edition of 40
By Derrick Adams
Located in Minneapolis, MN
Artist: Derrick Adams Title: Mirroring Idealism Medium: Wall Relief of UV Curable Pigment on Mirror Dibond Size: 28 1/4" x 53 5/8" x 3" Edition: 29/40 Publisher: Co-Published by Car...
Mixed Media, Mirror
$28,064
H 56.3 in W 48.43 in D 22.05 in
Mirror “with fold” 123 by Franck K - Large stainless steel sculpture, reflection
By Franck K
Located in Paris, FR
Mirror “with fold” 123 is a unique mirror-polished stainless steel sculpture and concrete base by contemporary artist Franck K, dimensions are 143 × 123 × 56 cm (56.3 × 48.4 × 22 in)...
Concrete, Stainless Steel
$136,264
H 80.32 in W 27.56 in D 27.56 in
Kaktus by Franck K - Stainless steel sculpture, reflections, light, vision
By Franck K
Located in Paris, FR
Kaktus is a unique mirror-polished stainless steel and resin sculpture and burnt oak wood base by contemporary artist Franck K, dimensions are 204 × 70 × 70 cm (80.3 × 27.6 × 27.6 in...
Stainless Steel
$5,648
H 9.85 in W 9.85 in D 2.76 in
P.1995 by Toshio Iezumi - abstract wall sculpture, glass and mirror
By Toshio Iezumi
Located in Paris, FR
P.1995 is an wall sculpture by Toshio Iezumi. Heat reflective glass and half mirror, 9.8 x 9.8 x 2.7 inches (25 × 25 × 7 cm). The sculpture is signed and available in 5 editions. ...
Glass, Mirror
$7,766
H 7.09 in W 11.82 in D 5.91 in
F.230901, Beginning of the World by Toshio Iezumi - Contemporary glass sculpture
By Toshio Iezumi
Located in Paris, FR
F.230901 (Beginning of the World) is a flat glass and mirror sculpture by Japanese contemporary artist Toshio Iezumi, dimensions are 18 × 30 × 15 cm (7.1 × 11.8 × 5.9 in). The sculp...
Glass, Mirror
Porsche - Jerrycan
By Erik Salin
Located in Nottingham, GB
Contemporary Sculpture of a 'Porsche' Jerrycan. If you love super cars, this sculpture is for you. This eye catching sculpture will add a touch of glamour to any space. Erik Salin...
Mixed Media
$1,800
H 48 in W 39 in
"Tears Melt My Icy Heart", Pink and Multi-Color Mixed Media Sculpture
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Tears Melt My Icy Heart" is an original sculpture by Traci Johnson made of yarn on cloth on faux fur, mirror. This piece measures approximately. 48"h x 39"w. Born in New York City ...
Mirror, Fabric, Yarn
$1,800
H 14 in W 4 in D 4 in
LMIRL (Let's Meet In Real Life) - Pop Art Glass Pill Sculpture
By Edie Nadelhaft
Located in East Quogue, NY
"LMIRL" (Let's Meet In Real Life) - Limited edition green glass pill sculpture by Edie Nadelhaft. Edition of 9. Signed and numbered on the back by the artist. The piece is equippe...
Glass, Mixed Media
$8,472
H 56.3 in W 36.62 in D 3.94 in
Homage to Vasarely- mirror sculpture by artist and designer Oliver de Schrijver
Located in Schierensee, SH
With "Hommage to Vasarely" the renowned Belgian designer and artist Olivier De Schrijver has created a stunning retro-mirror wall sculpture honoring the art of Vasarely. The work is all hand-made, a unique series of only 6 works; signed and numbered on the back. Certificate. (3/6) Practical hanging mechanism on the back for easy handing on the wall. This Belgian designer reinvents the mirror by giving it a graphic role, like in his sought after "Hommage to Vasarely" whose projected lights create luminous tesserae onto walls and ceilings. His artwork invites you to escape into the imagination and the serenity offering a moment of intimacy. Through the subtle blend of poetry and fantasy on on head and the aesthetics and ergonomics on the other, Oliver De Schrijver could perfectly assume been gate design...
Mirror
$15,000
H 60 in W 42 in D 36 in
Monumental Chinese Jade, Stone and Glass Flower Arrangements
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Stunning monumental vintage Chinese floral arrangements handcrafted with stone, quartz and glass flowers with jade leaves on wrapped metal stems in a dramatic composition set in ston...
Stone, Metal
Love Wins - Rainbow color glass pill wall sculpture
By Edie Nadelhaft
Located in East Quogue, NY
Limited edition rainbow colored glass pill sculpture. Edition of 9. Signed and numbered on the back by the artist. The piece is equipped with a D-ring on the back for easy hanging...
Glass, Mixed Media
$28,064
H 49.22 in W 49.22 in D 0.79 in
“Shattered” wall mirror II by Franck K - Stainless steel sculpture, reflection
By Franck K
Located in Paris, FR
“Shattered” wall mirror II is a unique mirror-polished stainless steel sculpture by contemporary artist Franck K, dimensions are 125 × 125 × 3 cm (49.2 × 49.2 × 1.2 in). The sculptu...
Stainless Steel
$4,813
H 24 in W 16 in D 12 in
Chanel Tube Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, 2010s, 24x16x12
By Geraldine Morin
Located in Nottingham, GB
Original - Mixed media sculpture Super cool shiny paint tube featuring the Chanel logo This black and white exquisitely finished sculpture is perfect for adding that wow factor to ...
Mixed Media