Robert Adams: The Plains, Remembered Again

Twenty-two new painted woodblocks from photographer Adams' recent print series on the landscapes of his childhood

During the lockdowns of the Covid pandemic, Robert Adams (born 1937) noticed the subtle markings on a small plank of wood, detecting the form of a landscape within its grain. Long celebrated as a photographer, Adams began working with wooden scraps and block-printing ink, creating pieces that allude to the quiet forms of the Coloradan prairies, where he spent time in his youth. Created using tools he inherited from his father and grandfather, and often highlighting the natural grain of the wood, the painted woodblocks are modest in size and painted in springlike hues. Following the 2022 publication of The Plains, From Memory, this book brings together 22 new works, which often feature a bright horizon formed by blue sky and green grass populated by simple painted forms. The woodblock paintings depict idyllic pastoral motifs such as sunflowers, a road stretching into the distance and towering clouds.