CHICAGO—EXPO CHICAGO, the international exposition of contemporary and modern art, today announced an exclusive print edition by acclaimed artist Derrick Adams in celebration of the fair’s in-person return to Navy Pier, April 7-10. The print,Silver Lining (2022), is an edition of one hundred and is printed by Tandem Press, the internationally renowned publisher of fine art prints, in collaboration with Rhona Hoffman Gallery. The limited edition print is available for advance purchase at expochicago.com/print and on-site at EXPO CHICAGO.

“In 2019, we renewed a tradition of the early Chicago fairs, by collaborating with internationally renowned artists Nick Cave and Bob Faust, and Landfall Press, to publish a limited edition print that commemorated the exposition and supported EXPO CHICAGO’s Curatorial Initiatives programming”, said Tony Karman, President | Director. “After two plus years, we are extremely proud to celebrate the return of our in-person 2022 exposition with this extraordinary new print and to have the distinct honor to work with the celebrated artist Derrick Adams and Tandem Press to continue this tradition.”

For his 2017 inHarlem project in collaboration with The Studio Museum in Harlem, Adams carried out extensive research on Black design in fashion at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library, culminating in a body of work entitled Mood Board. Silver Lining incorporates abstract collage, vintage clothing patterns, fabric and bold, colorful forms to communicate Adams' interest in formalism, deconstruction and fragmentation. Playing with perspective, viewers see the exposed lining and structure of the coat as seen from an imagined vantage point beneath the runway. The piece merges the visual vernacular of garment making with the frenetic energy of a runway show—an ode to legendary Black fashion. 

“In the past five years I've had the chance to work with incredible arts organizations in the city of Chicago, including Rhona Hoffman Gallery and Stony Island Arts Bank, that have had a lasting impact on my practice,” said Derrick Adams. “It is an honor to be selected to create this visual representation of the 2022 edition of EXPO CHICAGO, a crucial contributor to the City’s art ecosystem, and to work with Tandem Press once again.”

“A collaborative artist by nature, Derrick Adams has been an absolute joy to work with. He is incredibly thoughtful in his approach to translating his ideas through the printmaking process,” said Paula Panczenko, Director of Tandem Press. “Silver Lining perfectly encapsulates Derrick’s many artistic influences—from music and performance to the legacy of Black fashion designers. We were thrilled to be asked to work on this new edition created by Derrick exclusively for EXPO CHICAGO, and look forward to its debut at the fair.”

The print is available for $4,000 and will be sold in a limited edition of 100. Sales will support EXPO CHICAGO’s Curatorial Initiatives, which seek to promote the development of curators and foster international dialogue between artists and institutions in Chicago and the greater Midwest.

About Derrick Adams

Derrick Adams (b. 1970) is a Brooklyn-based artist whose work spans painting, collage, sculpture, performance, video, and sound. Adams obtained his BFA from the Pratt Institute and MFA from Columbia University. He is also an alumnus of the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. Among other honors, the artist received a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Residency, a Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship and a Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize. With his oeuvre, Adams probes how identity and personal narrative intersect with American iconography, art history, urban culture, and the Black experience. The artist explores how individuals are shaped by their physical, societal, and historical environs. With sophisticated formal techniques, Adams investigates the fragmentation and manipulation of structure and surface—a method that links him to pioneers such as Henri Matisse, Hannah Höch, and Romare Bearden. His art resides in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Studio Museum in Harlem; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; and the Birmingham Museum of Art, among many others. He has recently established an artist program and residency in his hometown of Baltimore called The Last Resort.

About Tandem Press

Tandem Press is a publisher of fine art prints that hosts internationally renowned artists in its studio space, assisting them as they create original fine art editions. Using an array of traditional and contemporary printmaking techniques, Tandem Press stands at the forefront of research, experimentation, and new developments in the field of printmaking and has established itself as a leader among international fine art print publishers. Since its inception in 1987, Tandem Press has produced original fine art editions by numerous world-renowned artists including Derrick Adams, Richard Bosman, Lynda Benglis, Suzanne Caporael, Robert Cottingham, Lesley Dill, Jim Dine, Jeffrey Gibson, Sam Gilliam, Michelle Grabner, Al Held, Robert Kelly, David Lynch, Maser, Judy Pfaff, Alison Saar, Sean Scully, David Shapiro, Alan Shields, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Swoon, and Mickalene Thomas.

As a gallery, Tandem Press represents, promotes, and sells the artworks created in the studio both locally through exhibitions in its gallery, and nationally through participation in several internationally renowned annual art fairs. The Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin is the official archive of Tandem Press and receives one print from every edition that is published. In addition to its professional and research operatives, Tandem Press is also an important educational entity affiliated alongside the Art Department within the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Tandem Press also partners with other departments at the university and organizations throughout Wisconsin to offer tours, printmaking workshops, and other special events that serve artists, students, faculty, staff and the general public.