Adam Zhu

CCProjects is pleased to present Nice Daze by Adam Zhu, the debut solo exhibition by the New York based artist. Curated in collaboration between Zhu and Daisy Sanchez, the show coincides with the launch of the artist’s first book of photography, co-published by CCProjects and Paradigm Publishing and will feature a selection of works from the series presented in large-format prints, works on linen canvas and metal, and a multi-media installation.

The culmination of seven years of work photographed between 2013 and 2020, Nice Daze is an intimate portrait of community and coming of age in downtown New York City. A lifelong resident of New York’s Lower East Side, at age 16, Zhu began documenting experiences and friends in his social circle—a multi-generational network of contemporaries and mentors including skaters, graffiti writers, musicians, poets, and visual artists.

The artist’s documentary photography is an extension of his life and work as a community organizer working to protect vital city landmarks including Tompkins Square Skate Park that have served as a safe haven for marginalized activities and become a hallmark of youth culture in lower Manhattan. His photographs are an act of preserving transitory moments and documenting participants within these communities and spaces that cocoon creativity.

“Adam is somebody who has always been very community focused. He thinks about things in terms of connections with other people, and these photos bridge the gap between time periods and individuals and friend groups, all unfolding within a certain radius downtown. The series is both a portrait of himself and his upbringing as well as a portrait of his community. It is an individual endeavor but it is shared with so many other people.”

—Daisy Sanchez, Curator

Captured with the gaze of an active participant inspired by an impulse to preserve fleeting moments, Zhu’s photographs and portraits convey a striking honesty and palpable sense of movement.

“Being young is a brilliant time, especially if you are a seeker in New York City. The people in these photos and the person behind the camera all seem like seekers. They are seeking something, that ever-elusive thing. I still haven’t found it. I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

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­—Dumar Novyo, “Youth Culture, Over Time, NYC ‘80s ‘90s ‘00s Teens.”

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Nice Daze was designed in collaboration with artist and curator Jack Shannon. An assemblage of film photographs, the majority of which have never been shared publicly, the book is an homage to Zhu’s formative years populated by friends, lovers, contemporaries, and mentors. Employing several different methods of scanning and printing, the images range from scans of original works printed on newsprint and 3D scanned negatives with borders to full-bleed black-and-white and color photographs. The composition and design reflects the artist’s emphasis on the relationship between physicality and ephemerality. While depicting a specific time, place, and intimate personal relationships, Zhu’s gestural approach reveals a timeless portrait of youth on the fringes of the mainstream. The series favors emotional resonance over a linear documentary narrative, presenting an accumulation of fleeting moments with a lyrical abstraction that is at once immediate and nostalgic, euphoric and melancholic, hopeful and longing.

Adam Zhu is a photographer and creative director based in Chinatown, New York City. The artist’s work captures the abject grit and visceral beauty of New York’s contemporary youth culture. Characterized by a raw, untouched effervescence, Zhu’s photographs are an accumulation of fleeting moments in time that coalesce as a love letter to the diverse neighborhood he grew up in. In addition to photography, Zhu works in a variety of mediums including painting, collage, video, and printmaking.

As part of his practice, Zhu curates group art shows, or “cultural happenings,” featuring multimedia works made by his friends. Inspired by the collective creative energy of his community, the artist regularly hosts dinners at galleries and spaces across New York City that bring people from different scenes together to converse and share ideas.