MADISON, WISC.- Black joy abounds in “Derrick Adams: Prints,” a new hardcover collection of vibrant artworks documenting the artist’s seven-year collaboration with Tandem Press at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The new publication showcases Adams’ longest sustained printmaking collaboration to date and highlights his bold, geometric aesthetic and his commitment to normalizing moments of rest, leisure and affirmation within the Black community.

The book includes more than 20 of the artist’s prints produced at Tandem Press since 2019 alongside poetry inspired by his work, an essay that chronicles his artistic practice and an artist interview with behind-the-scenes photos. At Tandem Press, Adams leveraged specialized studio resources and pushed the boundaries of his practice, experimenting with complex multi-process techniques and screen printing and even producing a 94-piece woodblock puzzle. “Derrick Adams: Prints” highlights the technical innovations possible at Tandem Press, the relationship between Adams and Tandem’s collaborative printers and printmaking’s unique power to broaden the reach of Adams’ vision.


Derrick Adams, 2020. Boy on Swan Float. Woodblock, screen print, and collage on Iris Bookcloth and Rives BFK. Edition of 30, 31 x 45 inches. Printed and published by Tandem Press, Madison, WI


“At Tandem Press, Derrick Adams has found both a technical and conceptual partner, a space where the collaborative ethos of printmaking aligns seamlessly with our collective commitment to expanding the medium’s possibilities,” said Katie Geha, director of Tandem Press. “The prints created here are not ancillary to his studio practice; they are integral to it. They echo the collage-based formal language Adams is known for, while pushing the work into new material and expressive territory.”

The publication features full-scale and detailed images that invite readers to appreciate Adams’ vibrant aesthetic and the materiality of his process. A centerpiece of the book is “Eye Candy” (2023), an expansive exploration of American pop culture through a Black lens. His largest print project to date, the 24-foot installation reimagines a vintage Ebony magazine advertisement featuring a male underwear model. The publication isolates each of the six iterations of the model in Adams’ work, each wearing a different primary color. “Eye Candy” stands as a testament to the technical ingenuity of the Tandem Press team, who embraced the challenge of its monumental scale.


Derrick Adams, 2022. Silver Lining. Screen print, relief, and collage on Arches 88 and Somerset Book White. Edition of 100, 27 1/2 x 20 inches. Printed by Tandem Press. Published by EXPO CHICAGO

The 2024 work “Where My Girls At?” conjures thoughts of the 1990s R&B hit of the same name by girl group 702. The 62-color screenprint pays tribute to Black womanhood with four abstract female figures wearing colorful wigs. The composition draws inspiration from the iconic hair model portraits that lined salon walls and windows in the ‘90s and served as the blueprint for style during that era.

“Party Guest 1 and 2 (We Came to Party and Plan series)” (2020-21) reflect colors, texture and orientation that are departures from the original versions of the works. The series honors the historic sanctity of churches, barber shops and salons, venues that served as havens for Black communities when they weren’t welcomed to assemble freely in other places. While these spaces primarily served as venues for self-care and worship, the gatherings often sparked political movements and other plans to advance collective progress.


Derrick Adams, 2023. Style Variation 5 (Fringe)/ Screen print and archival inkjet with acrylic gloss varnish on Somerset Museum Rag Radiant White. Edition of 50, 27 x 20 inches. Printed and published by Tandem Press, Madison, WI

Judy Hecker, executive director of Print Center New York, charts the evolution of Adams’ printmaking practice in her essay, “Eye Candy: Derrick Adams and the Joy of Prints.” It details Adams’ transformative experience at Tandem Press with commentary from Adams and collaborators Jason Ruhl and Joe Freye. At Tandem Press, Adams embraced a slower pace, experimented with new materials and cutting-edge equipment and enjoyed collaborations with Ruhl and Freye that yielded innovative results. Among the stories is one of how a newly acquired laser engraver paved the way for Adams’ first puzzle-block masterpieces, “Self Portrait on Float” (2019) and “Boy on Swan Float” (2020).

Adams’ prints also come alive with poems by Krista Franklin. The writer, performer and visual artist penned two works inspired by Adams’ prints. “Parlay 1-4, After Derrick Adams & Patrick Kelly” pairs style and fun much like Adams’ 2024 prints, which pay homage to fashion designer Patrick Kelly. The poem appears alongside details of “Parlay 1-4,” where dice rest on brown and gray hues reflective of skin tones. “Style Variations, After Derrick Adams” celebrates the beauty, versatility and history of Black hair and is an extension of Adams’ “Style Variations” (2020) that showcase Black men showing off their facial hair and varying haircuts and Black women wearing pixie cuts, space buns, loose waves, a side part and fringe.


Derrick Adams, 2024. Parlay 4. Screen print, archival inkjet, and collage on Lanaquarelle with book cloth, Kozo, and Arches 88. Edition of 30, 36 x 24 inches. Printed and published by Tandem Press, Madison, WI

In an interview with Katie Geha, director of Tandem Press, and Tandem Press’ collaborative printmakers Joe Freye, Jason Ruhl and Patrick Smyczek, Derrick Adams discusses his time at Tandem Press and the evolution of his artistic practice. The interview explores his experiments with printmaking, the ways in which his practice expanded between 2019 and 2025 and the power of collaboration.

“I’ve worked with print shops where limitations dictated the outcome. At Tandem Press, it’s the opposite. The printers’ experience allows them to offer ideas that elevate a print beyond what I’d initially envisioned, suggesting materials I didn’t even know existed,” said Adams.

“Derrick Adams: Prints” is published by Tandem Press and distributed by Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. Contributors include Derrick Adams, Krista Franklin and Judy Hecker with an introduction by Katie Geha.