Jim Adams
James Adams (1943– ) is a Canadian artist born in Philadelphia, PA. He has lived and worked in British Columbia since 1969. Adams had a long teaching career alongside his artistic practices. He taught at the Fine Arts Department of Douglas College, now the Kwantlen Polytechnic University, from 1970 until his retirement in 2000.
Before moving to Vancouver, Adams received his bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Temple University in 1965 and his master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. While in California, Adams taught printmaking at Cal State, Long Beach, and drawing at the Laguna Beach School of Art and Design.
Adams' practice is an expression of Afro-Futurism, and frequently references Nubia, space, flight, and ancient Egyptian mythology. He also captures the seemingly apolitical: dramatic skyscapes, planetary eclipses, and astral constellations in his acrylic paintings. For the past 40 years, Adams has been featured in private and public collections and numerous exhibitions, including “The Irretrievable Moment” (2017), a retrospective presented at The Surrey Art Gallery in Surrey and The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford; “Mythic Sketches” (2014) at the Newton Cultural Centre, Surrey; “Re: Mix” (2015) at the Surrey Art Gallery; and “Tribute: The Art of African Canadian Artists” (2006) at the Peel Art Gallery Museum + Archives in Brampton, ON, and the Mississauga Art Gallery in Mississauga, ON.
He also presented in solo and group exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC; Amelia Douglas Gallery, New Westminster, BC; Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, ON; Richmond Art Centre, Richmond, BC; A Space Gallery, Toronto, ON; Metro Hall, Toronto; The Berkeley Centre at Yale University, New Haven, CT; Peterson Library at the University of Connecticut, West Haven, CT; and numerous other venues. Adams is a Surrey Civic Treasure Laureate and has been included in “Black in Canada” and the “Canadian Who’s Who.”