Frequently referencing Art Deco, Adams employs materials more readily associated with industrial processes than the decorative arts. The reverse is true of White Roses, an upholstered bench originally commissioned by The Collection Museum in Lincoln. Adams created the piece in response to a painting of the same name by the late 19th century French painter, Henri Fantin-Latour.
Using green and white tie dye, matching the colour scheme of the original painting, Adams creates an unusual upholstery pattern that echoes marbling, a kind of trompe l’oeil on fabric. By elevating the industrial, the non-valuable, DIY and everyday materials, Adams teases at cultural values and hierarchy of craft and design and art.
Rachel Adams lives and works in Glasgow. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh|Edinburgh College of Art in Fine Art (MA) in 2009 and completed an MFA at the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford in 2017. Recent exhibitions include: Hothouse, Hospitalfield, Arbroath until the end of September; Noon, David Dale Gallery & Studios, Glasgow (2018); Lowlight, Bloc Projects, Sheffield (2018); Right Twice a Day, Jerwood Visual Arts Project Space, London (2018). Adams was the Sainsbury’s Scholar at the British School at Rome 2015-16 and is a current AHRC Doctoral Researcher at the University of Edinburgh and Dundee Contemporary Arts.