Rashid Johnson is a contemporary multimedia artist whose work harnesses his vast knowledge of art history and Black popular culture to examine the intersections of personal, racial and cultural identities. Johnson’s mother, Cheryl Johnson-Odim, a poet and scholar of African history, gave him a deep love for the arts and humanities at an early age. His stepfather was of Nigerian descent, and his family embraced an Afrocentric worldview.
Johnson came of age during a pivotal time in which Black culture heavily influenced the American mainstream. His work is often concerned with examining complex notions of Blackness without defining it against white supremacy. In an artist statement, he shared that “there’s a generation of Black artists before me who made work specifically about the Black experience, but I think for my generation, having grown up in the age of hip-hop and Black Entertainment Television, there’s less of a need to define the Black experience so aggressively to a white audience. I think it gives us a different type of opportunity to have a more complex conversation around race and identity. It’s not a weapon for me, it’s more of an interest.”
Johnson initially went to college to become a filmmaker but found himself working across sculpture, painting, installation, video and performance while drawing on literature, history, philosophy and music. His work transcends artistic conventions as he wields found objects and everyday materials and embeds them into cultural and historical contexts to transform their meanings, thereby interrogating the relationship between works of art and moments in time.
Visitors can experience these layers of exploration in “Untitled (Escape Collage),” on view in the Georgia Museum of Art’s lobby through May 2027. David Odo, the museum’s director and chief curator, said that “at first glance, the work on view draws you in with vivid, tropical imagery — palm trees, open water, a sense of escape. But as you look more closely, the surface reveals itself to be layered and complex, built from materials like ceramic and mirror tile, red oak, black soap and wax. The painting is large and visually striking, balancing beauty with a sense of unease. Serene, almost idyllic scenes are interrupted by cracked tiles, scratched lines and bold gestures of spray paint. These contrasts create a tension between calm and disruption, inviting viewers to slow down and take in the details. For Johnson, the idea of ‘elsewhere’ is more than just a fantasy of paradise. It speaks to deeper themes of longing, imagination, and the desire to envision life beyond limitation. At the same time, the artist’s energetic mark-making keeps us grounded in the present, reminding us that these dreams are shaped by real experiences and histories.”
“We are excited to present this loan from the Masterworks Foundation in the museum’s lobby,” Odo said. “We invite visitors to spend time with the work and consider their own ideas about freedom, place and possibility — and to see how Johnson transforms familiar materials into something both personal and widely resonant.”
Authored by:
Nabiha Rahman
