Derrick Adams – Situation Comedy

Derrick Adams, Only Happy Thoughts, 2024 (c) Derrick Adams Studio

Location

Gagosian
17–19 Davies Street
London
W1K 3DE

Description

This exhibition runs from Thursday 13th February 2025 to Saturday 22nd March 2025.


Composed with brightly hued, faceted planes of acrylic paint and fabric collage, Adams’s paintings present visions of Black Americana through figures engaged in everyday leisure and enlivened by individual daydreams and fantasies.

The paintings convey seriocomic moments of conflict and resolution that draw from the narrative strategies of television sitcoms and movies, sharing a sense of humor and familiarity integral to the genre. They reflect the significance of pop culture and comedy in defining the joys and contradictions of contemporary life.

Each painting has elements of comedic storytelling, establishing situations starring imagined characters and humorous juxtapositions, before landing the punchline. Good Egg, Bad Bunny (2024) relays a nostalgic vision of Easter from a child’s perspective, with an egg hunt and a life-size chocolate bunny that has been conspicuously nibbled. An older woman holding a palm leaf highlights the intersection of the holiday’s communal and commercial aspects with ritualistic and religious meanings. Baked In (2024) centers on a man lying on a gingham-patterned placemat or picnic blanket at an ambiguous scale, his body overlaid by a pie in a humorous take on Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. He holds flags and fireworks that symbolize the celebration of Independence Day in the United States, while flies and ants invade the scene. Only Happy Thoughts (2024) pictures a contented woman dreaming of a hairstyle composed of Tootsie Roll candies, embodying a sweetness that is both pure and excessive.

Prices

Free

Contact and Booking Details

More information at this website.

Upcoming Dates

This exhibition runs from Thursday 13th February 2025 to Saturday 22nd March 2025.

Forthcoming dates:

Thu 13th Feb 2025 
(10:00am to 6:00pm)
Fri 14th Feb 2025 
(10:00am to 6:00pm)
Sat 15th Feb 2025 
(10:00am to 6:00pm)
Tue 18th Feb 2025 
(10:00am to 6:00pm)
Wed 19th Feb 2025 
(10:00am to 6:00pm)
Thu 20th Feb 2025 
(10:00am to 6:00pm)
Fri 21st Feb 2025 
(10:00am to 6:00pm)

Disclaimer

The information and prices in this listing are presumed to be correct at the time of publishing, but please always check with the venue before making a special trip.

All images are supplied by the exhibition organiser.

Gagosian
17–19 Davies Street
London
W1K 3DE

Map
Map

This exhibition runs from Thursday 13th February 2025 to Saturday 22nd March 2025.

This event runs over several days/weeks. Dates include:

February 2025

March 2025