These paradoxes are extended in Adams' own location of his work "somewhere between Agatha Christie and Anthony Caro," a statement that provides clues both to his formal, "sculptural" concerns and to his compositional strategies. The environments are based in highly controlled arrangements, in which elements are related both internally and to the structure of the visual frame. Symmetries, parallels and diagonals order the compositions; there is constant use of formal devices and repeated motifs by which themes are developed or evidence is related. But Adams' statement, more importantly, can be viewed as referring to a strategy of significance -- a strategy based on a series of fragments, which, in their crystallization, or combination, yield meaning.

From the catalogue, 'Mystery and Meaning in the Work of Mac Adams' Kate Linker Neue Galerie-Sammlung Ludwig/ Daad Galerie Berlin. Germany. 1982.