A R T I S T O F T H E W E E K: J J A D A M S!

With a seriously impressive following, being one of our all time best selling artists, with a list of celebrity buyers as long as my arm and commissioned works now hanging up in some of the most highly respected establishments around the UK all under his belt - plus of course, a brand new and highly anticipated spring collection dropping THIS SATURDAY - it's no surprise that the first person to headline our new 'artist of the week' segment would be the completely unstoppable JJ Adams... 

 

We are eagerly awaiting the return of JJ to Edinburgh in August - for his FOURTH show with Robertson Fine Art and after the record smashing and totally unbelievable day we had for his event last year, we will have to seriously up our game to launch his Autumn collection later this year! His creativity, unique ideas and his huge fan base have shown no signs of slowing down over the years, and that is why the spotlight is on us to deliver another 'out of this world' event to go along with what we know will be another groundbreaking series of works.

  

Anyone who has ever stepped foot inside our galleries, glanced at our website or stumbled upon our social media will have been sure to have placed eyes on at least one of JJ's works, and if you have found yourself being drawn to it like so many of our clients are - then you'll completely understand the term 'The JJ Adams Fever' - a phrase we use a lot to describe the frenzy around his works! That's because after you take the jump and purchase your first one... it's difficult from then on to stop!

JJ's style is fun, unique, highly contemporary whilst still being accessible -  and we tend to find that no matter what techniques or subject matter a person may tell us they are interested in.. many will always end up attracted to his methods, for many different reasons. 

   

JJ's collections are a blend of mixed mediums that utilize his various techniques like screen printing, digital painting, photography/ photo manipulation and stencil and spray paint that he layers together create his final imagery. His styles often  focus around pop culture spanning back from the 80's right up to the present day and will regularly make light-hearted and quirky references to famous icons, film and even political issues throughout. His pieces are like puzzles, intertwined with hidden meanings and details - we like to call them 'JJ's Hidden Gems' and these little images scattered around his creations really do showcase just how much of a creative genius this man is. (For a real in depth look at this read our 'JJ's Hidden Gems blog post next)

You only have to spend around 10 minutes picking JJ's brain to begin to understand how much passion and talent is instilled into him, but you could spend hours listening to him explain his works, finding something new each time and appreciating his endless commitment to making every work truly unique and conversation-worthy.

  

   

So with all this in mind, we thought a fantastic way to really showcase exactly why JJ Adams is our artist of the week is with a compilation of our favourite moments in all the time we have worked with him... so here goes!

    

In the summer of 2015 JJ had his first ever show north of the border with us here at Robertson Fine art - and for this he created his first ever Scottish themed work 'The North Will Rise Again' - a total of 25 editions were created along with the original of this unbelievable depiction of Edinburgh castle - and although selling out completely on the day of the show, (literally people fighting to get their hands on one!) it is still one of our most asked about works to date!

   

The leading company Bang & Olufsen commissioned JJ in September 2015 to create an artwork for a limited edition speaker which was sold within to the UK to celebrate their 90 year anniversary.

   

In the summer of 2016 - JJ Adams was approached by Mumford & Sons to create a unique piece of artwork to celebrate their recent 2016 tour of South Africa and came up with this completely ground-breaking piece of work which has long sold out. 

   

Also in the summer of 2016, Hyde restaurant and bar in Kensington opened it's doors and became the first place you could share a dining experience or a night out with a whole host of JJ artworks - all commissioned by Hyde. Hyde now features a dark lit room - complete with six of JJ's original star wars themed lightboxes, the original of 'Kensington Party' which was created especially for them, and a fully embellished suit of armor and throne you take your picture on! (and I should know, because I have been there and done that myself!)

   

In May 2017, JJ got the chance to remix one of his iconic works for his idol - Slash from Guns and Roses & shipped it off to his home in L.A. - this most likely the most famous person in the world at the moment to own a work by JJ Adams. 

    

JJ returned for another incredibly successful show with Robertson Fine Art during the Fringe Festival of 2017 - he released two new Scottish themed limited edition prints, his Grandmother who was an artist, was born and raised in Edinburgh and is a big inspiration to him and so he included a few references to her in his new piece "Here be Dragons" of Calton Hill overlooking Edinburgh. His "Ghost Piper" screen prints were inspired by a recent trip through the Glencoe valley and the Highlands - both works are now sold out. 

    

Award winning Scottish Chef Adam Handling commissioned JJ Adams to create and curate bespoke artwork for his new flagship restaurant 'The Frog by Adam Handling' and Eve bar in Covent Garden - London in 2017. You can now enjoy Adam's fine dining experience whilst gazing at JJ's original imagery, how exciting!

    

In December 2017 JJ released his first ever 'Lenticular' edition of one of his most iconic works to date - Princess Diana. The moving work was the first of it's kind for JJ and completely blew his fan base away, proving that he still had so much more up his sleeve for us all - the piece was also his fastest selling work to date and was snapped up by a lot of lucky clients in just under 5 minutes, after a serious battle to the end to secure one!

  

After his exceptional Autumn release 'A World Of Pure Imagination' JJ was back on the road to tour his new collection - and stopped off again in Edinburgh for a truly incredible event. On the morning of Saturday the 29th Of September people began to queue, eagerly awaiting our door opening at 12oclock - by the time we were ready to let everyone in the line was half way up the street!!! The first 50 customers who walked through our doors were given a special 'Wonka Bar' and one very special guest would have a Golden Ticket inside - entitling them to a piece worth £3,000 - but there was easily around 100 people who were in attendance, and the atmosphere was electric! We had a whole host of entertainment to go along with the outstanding collection, with the guys over at Tonic Bar shaking up some personalised cocktails, our resident DJ on the decks, a candy cart full of sweet treats and even magician Elliot Bibby conjuring up some tricks for everyone! It was a sensational day for all involved and quickly made it to the top of our list of highlights for the year.