Dr. Elena Crippa states that Adams ‘was constantly reimagining, constantly bringing in new sources and new ideas. His painting and drawing is never static.’ Perhaps one of the most interesting...
Dr. Elena Crippa states that Adams ‘was constantly reimagining, constantly bringing in new sources and new ideas. His painting and drawing is never static.’ Perhaps one of the most interesting works he produced in London in the 1980s is The Captive (1982). As art historian Alice Correia argues, the work references the police brutality of the apartheid period, with the figure to the left in brown. However, as Correia goes on to argue, the police figure in the black uniform seems to reference what was going on in Britain at the time. The work replicates much of the press photography of the police arrests during the Brixton riots of 1981. The work, of course, could also reference his own arrests in 1950s South Africa.
The Captive sees Adams return to a less painterly style, to the more planure or flat surfaces that he experimented with in his youth. As several art historians have suggested, Adams was also influenced by the work of David Hockney. However, the theme is far more political in nature than that of Hockney. As Correia argues, the issues addressed in the rendering of The Captive are far closer to those of a much younger group of British artists, such as the BLK Art Group and Donald Rodney. The Captive is a perfect example of the work that Adams was producing in the 1980s. What is perhaps interesting is that it seems to have a distinct similarity with the work of Robert Hodgins, who was living in South Africa at the time.
The artist's estate.
SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, The Bonds of Memory, 9 April - 21 May 2016.
Private collection, Cape Town.
Exhibitions
SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, The Bonds of Memory, 9 April - 21 May 2016.
Rupert Museum, Stellenbosch, Albert Adams (1929-2006): A Fractured History, May - October 2017.
Wits Art Museum, An Invincible Spirit: Albert Adams and his Art, 1 April 2019 - 25 May 2019.
Literature
Miles, E. (2019). An Invincible Spirit: Albert Adams and His Art. Cape Town: SMAC Gallery, illustrated in colour on page 84.