Allan Adams (b. 1952) is known for his wooden sculptures that transform familiar tools and machinery into nonfunctional objects. Born in Arizona, Adams earned a B.A. in 1975 from California State College, Stanislaus (now California State University, Stanislaus) and an M.F.A. in 1978 from the University of California, Davis. Adams creates detailed, illusionistic versions of objects normally manufactured from metal and other industrial materials. Rather than painting or staining the wood to imitate those materials, he leaves its grain visible, emphasizing the tension between the object viewers recognize and the material from which it is made. By rendering functional objects unusable through shifts in material and scale, Adams encourages viewers to reconsider relationships among craftsmanship, labor, function and representation. His work has been exhibited at institutions including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Baltimore Museum of Art.