The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth will present Rashid Johnson’s “A Poem for Deep Thinkers,” the artist’s largest exhibition to date and his first major museum survey in more than a decade. Johnson, one of the most acclaimed artists of his generation, is known for his diverse practice, which spans painting, sculpture, film, and installation, all of which are included in this exhibition.
For nearly three decades, Johnson has cultivated a multidisciplinary approach to artmaking while drawing upon art history, philosophy, literature, and music as conceptual frameworks. Over this time, Johnson has developed a distinct visual language that engages with central themes and questions that reflect on his story and contemporary life in general, such as race, masculinity, empathy for others, self-care, family, sobriety, and his own, and each of our inner emotional lives.
The exhibition’s title, “A Poem for Deep Thinkers,” takes its name from a poem by Amiri Baraka, an American poet, writer, teacher, and political activist whose work is a frequent source of inspiration for Johnson. Tracing Johnson’s trajectory from his early experiments in photography and video to his recent materially complex paintings and assemblages, this presentation brings together nearly 90 works spanning pivotal phases of the artist’s career. A site-specific installation, an outdoor sculpture, and two works activated through live performance are highlights within the exhibition.