Derrick Adams: Prints

Echoing the bright, graphic and collage-like aesthetic of his painting practice, Adams' prints are playful expressions of Black joy

Brooklyn-based artist Derrick Adams (born 1970) began working with Tandem Press in 2018, following a recommendation from his colleague Mickalene Thomas. Over the next six years, he produced more than 20 prints in collaboration with the studio, experimenting with techniques from multi-process to screenprinting to a 100-piece puzzle-cut woodblock print. Throughout the series, Adams' collage-like, graphic aesthetic celebrates "the leisure and lives of Black individuals," including a printed version of his painting Self-Portrait with Float. Designed by Chips NYC—who just last year produced the titles for Nosferatu, Wicked, Babygirl and Nickel Boys—this colorful hardback documents each work made by Adams and the Tandem printers, with an interview documenting the entire process as well as an essay by Judy Hecker and poems by Krista Franklin.