JJ Adams is an English mixed media contemporary pop artist and graphic designer born in Plymouth of March 1978. The son of a Baptist preacher, JJ and his family changed the sunny south coast of Plymouth for vibrant Cape Town, South Africa in the early eighties, this was not an easy time to be in South Africa.
Once there, he attended a number of different schools as he and his family moved between Bloemfontein and Cape Town, where they finally settled for the next 13 years.
In his youth, Adams was heavily into skateboarding and graffiti, and was enamoured by hip hop culture. This culminated in him being arrested for colourfully painting the side of a building in Cape Town.
He was also a keen musician and played guitar in a local band formed by friends. His work would later feature graffiti and street art as well as his tattoo and musical influences.
Adams spent much of his youth hanging around the studio of the popualr South African contemporary landscape artist Derric van Rensburg. This is where he discovered his love for bright vibrant colour schemes and graphic art.
After selling a few of his acrylic paintings through a local gallery, Adams decided it was high time he returned to the UK, this time moving right to the heart of the action in London and pursue his art career there.
Adams’ work can be found in galleries worldwide and he has done exhibitions with the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bang & Olufsen. His art has also been featured in such illustrious magazines as Vogue and GQ.
His work often features elements of graffiti, street art, tattoos and pop culture icons, and he describes his work as a simple formula of remixing something old with something new.
He always listens to music while he works and credits it as a constant source of inspiration – he’s also an avid record collector – his favourite band being the legendary Pink Floyd.
Adams is married with five children and currently resides in South London, he keeps his personal life private and away from social media, unlike so many.
Through the sale of his artwork, Adams regularly donates to charities in the UK, and even raised over £5,000 for a charity at auction in 2015 with a small 20cm x 20cm painting of his.
He has curated bespoke artworks for two high-profile London restaurants, Hyde in Kensington and The Frog by Adam Handling in Covent Garden and his work is lovingly collected by celebrities and famous musicians such as Slash from Guns N’ Roses and Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays.
Adams has developed a unique style of hiding many things in his paintings, a style that he learned from his father and a jigsaw puzzle he loved as a child, as well spending many hours studying album covers from bands like Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd.
His biggest influence is South African artist Derric Van Rensburg alongside other artists such as Storm Thorgerson, Norman Rockwell, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Sir Peter Blake.
As one can see, JJ Adams is an incredibly talented and inspiring artist who has come a long way from his humble beginnings in art way back in South Africa.
We love JJ and always stock limited edition prints of his due to their brilliance and popularity.