Lauren Adams (b. 1979, Snow Hill, NC; lives and works in Baltimore, MD) mines the histories of early exploration, colonialism, and industrialization to make new and surprising connections that resonate with current sociopolitical issues. Working in a variety of media, from paintings and drawings to textiles and printmaking, she calls attention to obscure historical events and phenomena to explore the relationship between power, labor, and material culture. Inspired by historical decorative forms and designs such as Chinoiserie-style wallpaper, Elizabethan-era dress, pirate flags, and Soviet avant-garde agitprop from the early twentieth century, Adams’s hybrid objects and installations are purposely anachronistic and deeply relevant for suggesting how we value labor and its attendant outcomes today. Adams presents new work in her Front Room exhibition, as well as in a satellite exhibition curated by CAM at the inaugural ExpoChicago art fair (September 19-23, 2012; Navy Pier, 600 East Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60611).