Derrick Adams' solo exhibition and debut at Collette Blanchard Gallery speaks of fallen empires, resilience and childhood impressions. It also speaks of shiny, glittery memories against muted realities, of broken landscapes and those who once resided within.
Welcome to Monument City draws inspiration from documen... Read more
Derrick Adams’ solo exhibition and debut at Collette Blanchard Gallery speaks of fallen empires, resilience and childhood impressions. It also speaks of shiny, glittery memories against muted realities, of broken landscapes and those who once resided within.
Welcome to Monument City draws inspiration from documentaries on ancient civilizations and of societies that end in destruction, left for historians to later cobble together provocative stories of money, power and respect from the scattered evidence that remains. The work is also a reflection on Adams personal witness to the transformation to ruin – architecturally and socially – of his hometown of Baltimore City (designated "Monument City" by President John Quincy Adams in 1827). The exhibition addresses the universal relationship between man and monument, both coexisting in the landscape as a fragmented and distorted representation of each other.
Muted faux-brick panels shelve pseudo-symbolic objects; digital images are combined with hand painted elements and glittered surfaces. His work fuses fairytale perceptions with a current need to search for meaning in fragments and artifacts.
Mr. Adams, who lives and works in New York, is a is graduate of Columbia University and a recent recipient of the 2009 Louis Comfort Tiffany Award. He participated in the inaugural PERFORMA 05; PS1/MoMA’s 2005 Greater New York; Open House The Brooklyn Museum of Art; and the Studio Museum in Harlem. Past solo exhibitions include Jack Tilton Gallery (2003), Triple Candie (2004), Participant Inc (2005), and Momenta Arts (2006) The spring Mr. Adams will attend the Fountainhead Residency and will debut Go Stand Next To The Mountain at The Kitchen. His work has been reviewed in the New York Times, New York Magazine and Artforum.
