Art students taking the Academy’s new Advanced Senior Studio class participated in a two-part workshop with Adams Puryear, an opportunity made possible through the Jada B. Gonzales Visiting Artist Series. Adams, who presented his work and discussed his life and career with upper-school students at an assembly, is the second artist taking part in this series. The assembly provided students with insight into his creative journey, while the hands-on workshops gave advanced art students the chance to explore their coil technique in clay.
Adams is an artist and educator whose work blends craft traditions with unexpected approaches to sculpture and installation. He explores three-dimensional art from different perspectives, using a diverse range of materials and techniques.
Students taking Advanced Senior Studio, an advanced-level, interdisciplinary studio art course designed to show students what making art looks like outside of an academic setting, helped select Adams for this year’s program. “By giving students agency in the selection process,” says Karl Orozco, who teaches the class, “we hope that the selected artist will resonate with their peers and give them a peek behind the curtain of the juried selection process all working artists will face in their careers.”
Adams’ art explores the impact of our internet-driven world, highlighting how technology shapes our daily lives and future, and examines the culture of convenience created by constant digital connectivity, questioning how it influences our behaviors, choices, and interactions.
Adams holds a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and an MFA from Indiana University. His work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in New York City, across the U.S. at institutions such as the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO) and the Kennedy Museum of Art (Athens, OH), and internationally at Galerie Christine Mayer (Munich, Germany) and the Icheon World Ceramic Center (South Korea). He currently lives and works in Kansas City, MO.
The Jada B. Gonzales ’23 Artist Series Fund establishes a visiting artist and speaker program to allow recognized artists to come to Albuquerque Academy’s campus to inspire, inform, and enhance our students’ creativity and knowledge of the arts. The program was established in 2023 in remembrance of Jada Gonzales. Jada was an artist – both as a writer and photographer; she sought connection and savored the personal discovery inherent in the artistic process. She generously invited others in to share her art, and she was courageous and determined in her pursuit of her unique creative vision. Albuquerque Academy continues to welcome gifts to this fund so the school can enhance the program and continue Jada’s legacy. Click here if you’d like to support this program.
