At the age of eight, BK Adams wanted to fly. He took his bike to the steepest hill in the neighborhood pedalling as hard as he could from the top. He woke up in the hospital under the gaze of his parents. Over the two months of his subsequent recovery, he drew and painted most of every day. He had discovered another way to take wing.
Since then, Adams has grown into his own idiosyncratic artistic persona. Known for his eccentrically detailed and whimsical outfits, often involving different types of eyewear, watches and timepieces, he has continued to prolifically produce painting, installation and monumental sculpture, all of it characterized by a distinctly playful, childlike expressionism. Much of it is directed towards both arcane philosophical concepts, such as the passing of time, and to deeply personal issues such as fatherhood, personal growth, and community.
Now based in Brooklyn, Adams premieres a new series of large format Black & White paintings in ‘Territorial’ at Claire Oliver Gallery in Central Harlem. Consisting of 9 large scale acrylic works mostly in black and white, and sometimes fading entirely to black, a departure from his distinctly colorful earlier work. Adams appears to be working through something conceptually muddy and weighty here. He proceeds in a manner reminiscent of other contemplative abstractionists, with the addition of spare figures, dried flowers, and occasionally, numbers.
“Spirit “features the silhouette of a child astride a horse-a recurring character named ‘Judah’- riding through an abstracted landscape that is hashed out in off whites, charcoal and black. It recalls a figure from American Western mythology, or from a future post-apocalyptic dystopia. The only color is a scarlet bird sitting on the child’s shoulder, almost mistaken at first as a splash, perhaps even a drop of blood. Adams appears to be suggesting a ‘little bird’ of conscience, the painting supported by the chalky letters at the bottom: “To Be Better”.
Bettering is a constant and cryptic reference in Adams work, as are the general themes of self, introspection, growth and community. “It’s Personal” appears to take the theme of self betterment as an endless assent, represented in this case as an endless red ladder ascending into a cloudy sky. The parable of Jacob’s ladder come to mind, with the as a metaphor for the vertiginous balance and narrow focus required for spiritual ascent.
