Alonzo Adams

Alonzo Adams was born on Christmas Eve 1961 in Harlem, New York. He grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey where he still lives and works. From an early age he had wanted to be an artist and in 1984 he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University. In 1987 the artist came to the attention of Bill Cosby who recognized his talent and praised his “wholesome realism”. Cosby offered the artist a fellowship that enabled him to pursue graduate studied and in 1991 Adams received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Working in various media including oils, watercolors and pencil, Adams creates works brimming with human emotions. His palette is dominated by the earth tones favored by Rembrandt and the African American masters he admires - Charles White, Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden.

Alonzo Adams’ work has been featured in solo exhibitions at major public and private venues in the East, including Howard University and the Russell Senate Building in Washington, D.C., Rutgers University, Dow Jones and Uptown Records in New York. He has received commissions from Merrill Lynch, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Motown, Ortho Pharmaceutical, Absolut Vodka and Black Enterprise Magazine, among others. His works hang in the collections of Bill Cosby, Andrew Young, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Earl Graves, Maya Angelou, Patti Labelle, Jasmine Guy, Eddie Murphy and Senator Bill Bradley.