Claire Oliver Gallery is proud to announce Territorial, a solo exhibition of paintings by Brooklyn based artist BK Adams. Premiering a new series of mainly black and white large-scale works, the artist confronts the passage of time and our relationship to the changing phases in our lives. At once deeply narrative and universal, the new paintings in Territorial are a marked departure from the artist's signature primary colored figurative works. Leaning into abstraction and numerical imagery Adams invites the viewer to chart their own path forward while still cherishing those events that they hold dear in their lives. Territorial is on view September 5 - November 1, 2025.
“My work has always been inspired by my own journey as a father and a man. Through an abstract notion of time that stretches and bends, this new series is a change of season. I'm now speaking in black and white, which the viewer can take literally as Black and White, uncluttered by innuendo. Life is textured and time is continuous, I’ve made friends with time in this work.”
Adams’ recurring large scale solitary lion, a symbol of protection and responsibility, is now rendered in black and white. Receding to the background the lion is joined by the only hint of color in the works; a stunning red cardinal now takes center stage, a symbol of the ancestors still keeping watch over the community. Adams’ works contain ciphers, layered numerology that turn to abstract images in their cacophony. Myriad lines cross Adams’ canvases, a nod to the concept of continuity and order, a practice he began while precisely mowing lawns as a child under the tutelage of his father. Dried flowers and other organic materials are incorporated within the layers of paint, - a reference to the organic cycle of life.
Adams’ works transcend a single story and speak to the broader concepts of self actualization and how we choose to spend our time. The works in Territorial mark an inflection point not only in the artist’s own life but in his artistic style, continuing anew his exploration of coded meanings, symbology and lineage.
Adams began his career as a painter and motorcycle enthusiast in Washington DC. He became a protégé of artist Sam Gilliam, not realizing until later in life the broad and deep lessons he had learned in those early years. Adams’ work is in the collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Smithsonian Anacostia Museum of Art, The Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Weisman Art Museum, the North Dakota Museum of Art and other important public institutions. He was the recipient of the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship in 2011 and has a solo exhibition at the North Dakota Museum scheduled shortly. He lives and works in Brooklyn.
