Derrick Adams

Curator speaks with the acclaimed artist about his paintings, projects, and new sculpture installation, Funtime Unicorns, at Rockefeller Center.

Interview by Dan Golden

Derrick Adams received his MFA from Columbia University and BFA 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. His 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.

Dan Golden (DG): Please tell me a bit about your background and artistic path.

Derrick Adams (DA): I'm from Baltimore, where most of my relatives still reside. I have an extremely close-knit family both there and also in New York City. Art has always been my path, growing up and for as long as I can recall. I moved to Brooklyn in 1993 to attend Pratt Institute, which was the beginning of my pursuit as a professional artist.

DG: Can you provide some insight into your well-known Floater series, and your interest in portraiture, in general?

DA: My work intends to fill the spaces where Black people are still not considered. Leisure is one area that hasn't received attention. I am happy to report the influence of the Floater series has changed the course of Black representation in art in a positive way. And if that's really the case, I'll take it. My ongoing interest in portraiture will always be my way of being able to show the world how I value my subjects with blatant flattery and exaltation through color and form.

Ebony Fashion Fair 3, 2017, mixed media collage on paper, 60.5 x 40.5 inches

Family Portrait 2, 2019, oil on linen, 84 x 60 inches

Figure in the Urban Landscape 19, 2018, acrylic, graphite, ink, fabric on paper collage, grip tape, and model cars on wood panel, 72 x 48 x 3 inches

Floater 47, 2017, acrylic paint, graphite, fabric on paper, 50 x 70 inches

We Came to Party and Plan 35, 2020, acrylic paint, fabric, and paper collage on paper, 24 x 18 inches

Young Woman in Violet, 2016, mixed media collage on paper, 24 x 18 inches

Style Variation 41, 2021, acrylic paint on digital inkjet photograph on Artex canvas in custom frame, 96 x 60 inches

DG: Funtime Unicorns is the first work of your new venture, Derrick Adams Editions. What inspired this new work and endeavor?

DA: I created Funtime Unicorn interactive sculpture to engage with the public in a way that a two-dimensional painting or three-dimensional sculpture alone can't do perched up on a pedestal. When I develop public art, I consider the public and their desire to connect with their surroundings when the opportunity arises. The new edition venture is an expansion of this idea of public interaction with art where objects like this can exist in many places at the same time.

Funtime Unicorns, 2022, photo by Emil Horowitz, courtesy of Derrick Adams Edition & Art Production Fund

DG: Tell me about Our Time Together, your large-scale mural at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

DA: My commission for the Milwaukee Art Museum is a testament to the strength and vulnerability of Black Americans and the history they've made there. It incorporates photographic imagery from local archival news, highlighting their achievements. I fused the imagery into an elaborate collage of architectural renderings of community spaces frequented by Black Americans. I was honored to make this work celebrating this community I relate to culturally.

Our Time Together, 2021, inkjet print on vinyl, 1130 x 179 inches, Milwaukee Art Museum

DG: You are also the founder of The Last Resort Artist Retreat (TLRAR). I'd love to hear your thoughts on creating this new residency.

DA: Community is vital to Black people. We consider ourselves connected — so much so that we feel both pain and pleasure when we witness it through each other's experiences. As an artist who believes in the strength of gathering and restorative practices relating to leisurely activities, I founded TLRAR in my hometown to offer multigenerational Black creatives an option to reset with one another. Our goal is to utilize the time spent to combat many oppressive forces surrounding us in the world and to direct our attention back to joy and the importance of our community relationships.

The Last Resort Artist Retreat living room

DG: The Black Baltimore Digital Database Project (BBBD) is another project you are developing. I read that it recently received a significant grant from the Mellon Foundation. How will the funding be used?

DA: BBDD will be a social space for collecting, storing, and safekeeping data for Black archival projects and families living in Baltimore. The grant we received is to develop organizationally and build out the team.

Black Baltimore Digital Database (BBDD) Rendering by Jelisa Blumberg

DG: What do you consider the role of an artist today?

DA: The artist's role today can be whatever one desires and seeks out. I love being in a position to support others. It's not about money when it comes to helping others. It's about compassion and respect.

DG: What's next for you?

DA: So many things. I'm a professor at Brooklyn College, which keeps me extremely busy, but I have some new projects in the works, so stay tuned!

Derrick Adams
Funtime Unicorns

June 29 — September 9, 2022

Rockefeller Center
New York

Derrick Adams
LOOKS

December 5, 2021 — May 29, 202

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, Ohio

Derrick Adams

She CURAtes

Matthew Wong