Artist Derrick Adams’ depictions of Black joy

Few can fill a blank canvas like Derrick Adams. At 56, Adams is widely regarded as one of the most important artists of his generation, known for capturing themes of Black life in America in vibrant, kaleidoscopic style.

He is by no means a minimalist. “Sometimes there’s opportunities to be very minimal and still be impactful,” he said. “And there’s times where density is really important, if you’re trying to create an immersive experience. There are so many different ways that I communicate.

“Using color is not because I like colorful things. It’s really, like, color is more to activate a certain psychological response from the audience based on our association with certain colors, even sometimes when they don’t even know why they’re gravitating towards things.”

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Adams moved to New York for college, and to pursue a career as an artist. It wasn’t long before he gained attention internationally for his signature style. Today, that palette drenches the interiors (and even exterior) of Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art, home to a mid-career retrospective of his work.

Throughout the space are joyous scenes of everyday life and leisure, like a work from his signature “Floater” series. “We study, like, the chaise lounge, and the figures in Renaissance laying on the chaise lounge,” he said. “I was like, ‘How could you do it in American pop style?’ It would be more fun.”

His art shows Black life in all its complexities. “And undisturbed,” he said. “It’s really more about what happens when you leave a Black person alone to do the things that we do.”

It’s also an attempt to capture something even more elusive in art: Black joy.

Adams said, “If you see my work, you’re going to see things that may remind you of times where you are in spaces where you feel safe and normal and human. I think the difference between the idea of Black joy and joy is that, if there’s two people going out to jog in the morning, one person is gonna be assured that if something does happen, there will be ramifications if it does happen. But the other person? Through history and understanding, many things could happen to them jogging. They could be arrested for something that they did not do, or anything. [Killed], yes. But the difference between the two is, a person who has the most to lose will still put on their headphones and jog. And that’s Black joy, huh? Because you still do it!”

Asked if he has gotten feedback from people saying his work is “too light,” Adams replied, “All the time. There may be people who may feel that by showing this other aspect of Black culture, that it diminishes the reality of what some people may face in that people may forget about the trauma of what’s happening by getting lost in this particular narrative.

“We occupy multiple spaces. And if anything, I’m letting people know that you deserve this,” he continued. “And if you care to respond to things in a kind of editorial way or a journalistic way as an artist, that’s important for artists to feel compelled to do that. But I think that artists – definitely artists of color – should still be able to speak on things that they feel they want people to know about them as an individual or as a group.”

That vision has led critics to call Adams one the leading painters of Black contemporary life, credited with expanding the possibilities of American art.

But Derrick Adams insists his focus is not on legacy – simply making sure his art continues to radiate joy.

“I always say this thing like, when I’m gone and people — I’m not morbid! But I always think about the idea of art,” he said. “Everyone is gonna go at some point. I’m either gonna end up in a museum collection or on ‘[Antique] Roadshow.’ I’ve seen good stuff on there! You know, the idea of good art, it’s gonna end up somewhere. I think that people never throw away things that they feel are needed.”

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Story produced by Sara Kugel. Editor: Chad Cardin.