SPRING-SUMMER '26 PICK
“Derrick Adams is a pivotal figure in today's art canon because his work, which celebrates Black joy and leisure through a vibrant, multidisciplinary practice, has been so impactful it has been incorporated into the plot of a hit TV show like Empire .”
Derrick Adams Essays by Hallie Ringle, Salamishah Tillet, and Dexter Wimberly, and an interview by Sandra Jackson-Dumont
Publisher Description: The highly anticipated first monograph on one of the most celebrated American contemporary artists. Through portraits, social scenes, photographs, sculptures, and immersive installations, Derrick Adams has developed an artistic practice that jocundly visualizes modern Black American life. Equally informed by popular culture as he is by the history of modern art, Adams’s work brings the everyday experiences of Black Americans to the forefront, capturing fashionable moments of joy, resilience, and celebration.
How to present this to library customers: Highlight this book in library displays and reading lists focusing on contemporary art and Black artists, positioning Derrick Adams alongside celebrated figures like Kerry James Marshall and Amy Sherald. By doing so, you can attract art enthusiasts and general readers alike by showcasing how his vibrant, multidisciplinary work has influenced popular culture and redefined narratives of Black life and leisure.
Audience Key:
NOVICE:
A patron who does not know about the arts but is looking for new interests. These items are for public collections that call for you to introduce the arts to patrons and ignite their interests. They often know much more about popular culture than what’s happening in the arts.
EXPLORER:
These items are for customers who have some knowledge of the arts and want to learn more. Oftentimes these patrons stream music from your music streaming service, take out music and art biographies and they may attend music and art programming at your library.
AFICIONADO:
Ordering for aficionados requires knowledge about their habits when consuming the arts. These patrons are aware of the arts through museums, classical music, jazz and more. Oftentimes, these patrons attend music and art programming at your library, are professionals in the arts world with thorough knowledge of visual and/or performing arts.