Alonzo Adams Exhibition

The Stedman Gallery at Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Alonzo Adams, a contemporary realist figurative painter who tells stories of the Black experience. Born in 1961 and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, Alonzo Adams is a Rutgers University alumni, earning a BFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts in 1984. Afterwards, Alonzo attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a MFA in 1991.

Alonzo draws inspiration from artists such as Charles White, Henry Ossawa Tanner, and Rembrandt. At a crucial moment in his journey as an artist, Maya Angelou told him to “Go out into the world, soak it up like a sponge. Go back to your studio and wring it out.” Because of this advice, Alonzo has traveled widely—to Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and throughout America.

His work has been featured in many venues, including Howard University, the Senate Building in Washington, D.C., and the Studio Museum in Harlem. In 2004, Adams was one of the first inductees into the Rutgers African American Alumni Alliance’s Hall of Fame. In September 2023, The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers-New Brunswick opened Alonzo Adams: A Griot’s Vision, organized by Chief Curator Donna Gustafson. This exhibition at Rutgers-Camden will be larger in scope, showcasing entirely new work, a print catalog, and exiting programming free and open to the public.