Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Derrick Adams is a multidisciplinary artist and curator whose practice spans painting, collage, sculpture, and performance. He received his BFA from the Pratt Institute and his MFA from Columbia University, later establishing himself as a significant voice in contemporary art while serving as a faculty member at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Adams is widely recognized for his signature use of bold colors and fragmented, geometric forms to depict scenes of Black joy, leisure, and normalcy. His work often deconstructs media imagery and cultural artifacts, challenging traditional narratives by centering the lived experiences of Black Americans through a lens of celebration and historical reflection.

His recent recognition includes a major mid-career survey titled View Master, which spans two decades of his creative output. In 2026, he was commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, to create a monumental exterior installation that reimagines technical broadcast test patterns as a public-facing artistic intervention.