{"id":265818,"date":"2025-11-01T23:01:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T23:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/265818\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T23:01:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T23:01:13","slug":"rashid-johnsons-largest-exhibition-to-date-is-a-tour-de-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/265818\/","title":{"rendered":"Rashid Johnson\u2019s Largest Exhibition to Date Is a Tour-de-Force"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Broken Five,\u201d 2019. (Photo: Martin Parsekian, courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art)<\/p>\n

It only feels natural that the Guggenheim<\/a> is hosting Rashid Johnson<\/a>\u2019s largest solo exhibition to date. Monumental in size, experimental in medium, and rigorous in concept, Johnson\u2019s work seems entirely at home inside the museum, where he has exhibited his artwork several times in the past. For those reasons alone, it\u2019s clear that Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers<\/a> is not only a homecoming but an incredible expansion of, and glimpse into, the artist\u2019s multidisciplinary practice.<\/p>\n

Gathering more than 90 pieces, including some created specifically for the Guggenheim<\/a>, A Poem for Deep Thinkers offers a sweeping overview of Johnson\u2019s decades-long career. The exhibition showcases everything from large-scale paintings and spray-painted text works to monumental sculptures and exploratory films. Earlier works are also juxtaposed with those from the past few years, anchoring the exhibition with compelling throughlines. God Painting \u2018The Spirit,\u2019 for instance, reveals Johnson\u2019s ongoing interest in abstraction and bold colors, complete with strange, circular forms set against a dramatic red backdrop. Untitled Anxious Audience, on the other hand, betrays a fascination with the human form and psyche, depicting several faces that are contorted into unsettling grimaces.<\/p>\n

These newer works certainly reflect Johnson\u2019s artistic evolution, but they also cement what subjects and aesthetics have endured for the artist. Self Portrait laying on Jack Johnson\u2019s Grave highlights Johnson\u2019s political underpinnings and his continued interest in Black identity. The photograph is a direct homage to Jack Johnson, the first Black American heavyweight to defeat titleholder James J. Jeffries on July 4, 1910, during an era of intense racial violence. The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual is similar in its theme but differs in execution, displaying household objects resting on a heavily painted shelf. Like Self Portrait, the artwork references other entities beyond itself, this time being Harold Cruse\u2019s influential 1967 book, also titled The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual, that explored Black integrationism and nationalism.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the exhibition is Untitled, a new mosaic work showcased on the Guggenheim\u2019s iconic rotunda floor, alongside Rotunda Stage, an interactive space for performances. The stage has become the site of a public-engagement program that takes place every Friday through Monday, featuring collaborations with the Academy of American Poets, DreamYard, Harlem School of the Arts, Urban Word NYC, and the Guggenheim\u2019s poet-in-residence Traci Brimhall, among others. So far, a Grammy Award-winning jazz musician has curated musical performances; Bronx poets and students have presented their work; and Rad(ical) Poetry Consortium fellows hosted a special series of readings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis exhibition continues the conversation I\u2019ve always been invested in: one that allows for freedom of expression and awareness of artistic possibilities,\u201d Johnson said in a statement. \u201cFor me, medium specificity has never been the goal\u2014it\u2019s about how the project can move freely between different forms.\u201d<\/p>\n

While in New York, our editor-in-chief, Eugene Kim, had the opportunity to visit A Poem for Deep Thinkers, as well as public programming tied to the exhibition. \u201cFrank Lloyd Wright<\/a>\u2019s spiral at New York\u2019s Guggenheim turns the gallery into a path of discovery,\u201d he shares. \u201cDuring Johnson\u2019s exhibition, hanging plants, integrated poetry, and evocative works reframed the rotunda. Encountering them while ascending and descending the ramp created an intimate connection with the artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers is on view at the Guggenheim in New York through January 18, 2026.\n<\/p>\n

The Guggenheim is currently hosting Rashid Johnson\u2019s largest solo exhibition to date, featuring more than 90 artworks.
\n\"Installation<\/p>\n

Installation view of \u201cRashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers,\u201d held at the Guggenheim in New York. (Photo: David Heald)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cUntitled Escape Collage,\u201d 2018. (Photo: Martin Parsekian, collection of Kathy and Mitchell Jacobson)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cUntitled Anxious Audience,\u201d 2019. (Photo: Martin Parsekian, collection of Clara Wu)<\/p>\n

\"Detail<\/p>\n

Detail from \u201cUntitled Anxious Audience,\u201d 2019. (Photo: Martin Parsekian, collection of Clara Wu)<\/p>\n

\"Installation<\/p>\n

Installation view of \u201cRashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers,\u201d held at the Guggenheim in New York. (Photo: David Heald)<\/p>\n

\""God<\/p>\n

\u201cGod Painting \u2018The Spirit,’\u201d 2025. (Photo: Stephanie Powell, private collection)<\/p>\n

\""Self<\/p>\n

\u201cSelf Portrait laying on Jack Johnson’s Grave,\u201d 2006. (Collection of Dr. Daniel S. Berger)<\/p>\n

Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers is currently on view through January 18, 2026.
\n\"Installation<\/p>\n

Installation view of \u201cRashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers,\u201d held at the Guggenheim in New York. (Photo: David Heald)<\/p>\n

\""Bruise<\/p>\n

\u201cBruise Painting \u2018Honeysuckle Rose,’\u201d 2021. (Photo: Martin Parsekian, private collection)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Shuttle,\u201d 2011. (Photo: Martin Parsekian, courtesy the Rubell Museum)<\/p>\n

\""Seascape<\/p>\n

\u201cSeascape \u2018Jitter Bug,’\u201d 2022. (Photo: Stephanie Powell, private collection)<\/p>\n

\"Still<\/p>\n

Still from \u201cSanguine,\u201d 2024. (Courtesy Rashid Johnson)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cUntitled (Shea Butter Table),\u201d 2016. (Photo: Martin Parsekian, private collection)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing),\u201d 2008. (Photo: Martin Parsekian, courtesy the Rubell Museum)<\/p>\n

Get a peek into Johnson\u2019s exhibition and public programming at the Guggenheim:<\/p>\n

Exhibition Information:
Rashid Johnson
A Poem for Deep Thinkers
April 18, 2025\u2013January 18, 2026
The Guggenheim
1071 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10128
\nRashid Johnson: Instagram<\/a>
The Guggenheim: Website<\/a> | Instagram<\/a>
\nMy Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by the Guggenheim.
\nRelated Articles:
\nAmy Sherald\u2019s Powerful Portraits Take Over the Whitney Museum<\/a>
\nGet a Peek at the New \u2018UNBOUND\u2019 Exhibition Coming to the Museum of African Diaspora<\/a>
\nSee Ai Weiwei\u2019s Largest-Ever U.S. Exhibition in Seattle Before It\u2019s Gone<\/a>
\n