Biography
Jake Adams lives and works in Rochester, NY and Baltimore, MD. As an artist, deliberate consideration for beauty and the way in which it moves the individual marks every step of his creative process. In other words, the value of beauty is one determined by all human beings – not simply one viewer. Furthermore, this unique and infinite value of beauty is the fulcrum about which the lever of Adams’ paintings delicately balances.
Labels are dangerous. Words and signifiers reside in a futile disconnect with what is visual, sensory, or visceral. Adams believes that art should acknowledge this basic truth. A holy artifact of immense religious significance or an African wood sculpture of female fertility is next to meaningless when removed from its specific context and viewed by simple, ambivalent eyes or on the shelves of Pier One Imports and marketed for posh domestic décor. Adams’ work is highly aware of the treachery of labels and context and is richer for it.
The artist, in order to achieve success in any capacity, must form an intimate relationship with form, color and texture. These are the tools of communication for the artist; the vessels for that which is imperative and trenchant. Simply put, they are what is seen and what is seen is the most cardinal concern of the visual artist. Although it is an elementary concept the process and aim of art often cloud this vital relationship with seeing. This scopophilic love of seeing is one that Adams’ work not only resides in but also shares intimately with the audience.
All of these concepts deeply inform the work of Jake Adams. His attention to them and how they affect the work could account for his drastic changes from series to series. The art is in constant flux yet always remains an extension of these basic ideas.
“For once it would be lovely to see some art that was confidently silly and frivolous that cannot be construed as anything else.”---Jake Adams 2009
