Derrick Adams

Derrick Adams is taking over the Gagosian Shop in London’s Burlington Arcade with Recess, a presentation of new work accompanied by the installation of his interactive sculptures Funtime Unicorn Spring Riders (2022) along the length of the arcade. Embodying the themes of play and leisure that are at the center of Adams’s practice, they may be ridden, transforming the historic space through an invitation to engage.

The Funtime Unicorn Spring Riders reimagine a motif first developed by Adams in the Floater series (2016–21) of paintings depicting Black people at leisure. A presentation of related works in the Gagosian Shop includes a new painting of a child playing on a Funtime Unicorn and the video Funtime Unicorn: Ruby Rides through Four Seasons (2023), an animation realized in collaboration with the graphic design studio the Channel and narrated by Aya Burns and Cleo Reed with music by Dave Guy of the Roots. An affirmation of childhood wonder and creativity, the video relates the imagined passage of a year experienced by a unicorn in an urban playground and across cosmic dreamscapes. The Shop will feature new merchandise designed by Adams with imagery of recreation, self-reflection, and sweet treats.