About Artwork

Derrick Adams is a multidisciplinary, New York-based artist working in 2D and 3D realms, performance, video, and sound. His practice focuses on the fragmentation and manipulation of structure and surface, exploring self image and forward projection.

“Breakfast of Champions” is an exciting new pigment print on paper born from Adams’ acclaimed body of work titled “Live and in Color.” The piece showcases his adroit ability to couple observations from popular culture with rich art historical references. Allusions to Romare Bearden and William Johnson, for instance, facilitate his investigation of the nuances and complexities that shape American society.

In addition to a skillful use of art history, Adams draws from a multitude of other sources -from the visual vernacular of his childhood to iconic African-American entertainers such as Eddie Murphy and Whoopi Goldberg – in the pursuit of newly constructed, larger-than- life figures. By hyperinflating his subjects, Adams explores how the contemporary American and African-American experience is continually abstracted via the lens of television and media.