April 23, 2025

Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers at Guggenheim New York, April 18, 2025 through January 18, 2026

“The Guggenheim New York presents a major solo exhibition of work by Rashid Johnson, opening April 18, 2025, and remaining on view through January 18, 2026. Encompassing the entirety of the museum’s rotunda, the show is Johnson’s first solo presentation at the Guggenheim, his largest exhibition to date, and the first expansive museum survey of his work in over a decade. Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers brings together more than ninety artworks, including an outdoor sculpture and new pieces made specifically for the exhibition—two of which will be activated through ongoing performances. — Guggenheim New York

Explains Johnson, “This exhibition continues the conversation I’ve always been invested in: one that allows for freedom of expression and an awareness of artistic possibilities. I’ve always embraced the fluidity between mediums. For me, medium specificity has never been the goal—it’s about how the project can move freely between different forms, creating space for a broader conversation that goes beyond the limitations of any one medium.”

Rashid Johnson, Self Portrait laying on Jack Johnson’s Grave, 2006. Chromogenic print mounted on panel, 40.5 × 49.62 in. (102.87 × 126.03 cm). edition 1/3, 2 A.P. Collection of Dr. Daniel S. Berger X.2025.43 © Rashid Johnson, 2025
Rashid Johnson, Untitled Anxious Audience, 2019. Ceramic tile, black soap, wax, 159 × 180 × 3 in. (403.86 cm x 457.2 cm x 7.62 cm). Collection of Clara Wu Tsai X.2025.50 © Rashid Johnson, 2025. Photo: Martin Parsekian
Rashid Johnson, Untitled Escape Collage, 2018. Ceramic tile, mirror tile, branded red oak flooring, vinyl, spray enamel, oil stick, black soap, wax, 97 × 121 × 2.25 in. (246.38 × 307.34 × 5.72 cm). Collection of Kathy and Mitchell Jacobson X.2025.88 © Rashid Johnson, 2025. Photo: Martin Parsekian
Rashid Johnson, The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing), 2008. Wax, black
soap, shea butter, candles, and mixed media, 96 × 96 × 12 in. (243.84 × 243.84 x 30.48 cm). Rubell Museum, Miami and Washington, DC X.2025.59 © Rashid Johnson, 2025. Photo:
Martin Parsekian
Rashid Johnson, The Broken Five, 2019. Ceramic tile, mirror tile, branded red oak flooring, vinyl, spray enamel, oil stick, black soap, wax, 97 1/4 × 156 1/2 × 2 1/8 in. (247 × 397.5 × 5.4 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Sun Hung Kai & Co. Foundation, Janis and Dina Zuzans (Riga, Latvia), Laura and James DeMare, Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation, and Anonymous Gifts X.2025.74 © Rashid Johnson, 2025. Photo:
Martin Parsekian

“The Guggenheim could not be more thrilled to host this timely exhibition. Rashid Johnson is a master at synthesizing the key tendencies of twenty-first century art: the ability to move freely between different modes—painting, video, sculpture, performance—each a refined tool for forging a relationship between his own life history and art history. Above all, Johnson well understands that the vocation of the artist entails more than looking inwardly, it is also an opportunity to create, quite literally, platforms for the creative expression and self-care of others.” — Naomi Beckwith

The exhibition is organized by Naomi Beckwith, the Guggenheim’s Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, and Andrea Karnes, Chief Curator, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas, with additional support from Faith Hunter, Guggenheim Curatorial Assistant.

Title image: Installation view, Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers, April 18, 2025–January 18, 2026, Solomon. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Photo: David Heald © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York.