NADA New York 2022

Adams’ new graphite on canvas works continue the artist’s tactile approach to painting while presenting new topographical motifs, inspired by the work of his late father, a land developer. The works are essentially rubbings of intricate hand-made assemblages consisting of wood, acrylic medium, and sawdust that reside underneath the canvas. The artist arrives at these compositions via layers of transparent drawings, arranging and rearranging forms like a jigsaw puzzle, sometimes by means of a jigsaw, and coats of texture a la mediums and collage. The reveal, or final rubbing, is a slow exposure, a literal recording of surface and time. With titles like “Bedding Grike” and “Vernal Till,” Adams hints at geological inspirations, as well as references the physical contours residing underneath the canvas, and the actual physical process of mineral frottage.