In sculpture, photography, and painting, Rashid Johnson engages questions of personal, racial, and cultural identity through unique applications of historical and material references. His mother, a scholar of African history and a poet, instilled in Johnson a deep respect for history, literature, and art. When applying for college, he did so with the intention of becoming a filmmaker. Before arriving at Columbia College in Chicago, however, he read a great deal of scholarship on the history of photography and post-1950s abstract painting and sculpture. He mimicked the styles of Robert Frank, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Ansel Adams in his coursework, and spent the following years exploring possibilities for his own practice.

Since studying photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Johnson has gone on to work across sculpture, painting, installation, video, and performance, testing the ability of visual language to communicate across cultural boundaries. He employs a range of everyday materials—including shea butter, literature, record covers, and tropical plants—many of which reference Black intellectual history and cultural identity. He transforms objects and expands their references through the context in which he places them, underscoring the interplay between the visceral experience of art and the historic frameworks in which it lives. He draws inspiration from the work of artists, musicians, writers, and activists, such as David Hammons, Sun Ra, and Eldridge Cleaver.

Johnson received his BA from Columbia College Chicago and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is the recipient of awards such as the Tony Goldman Visionary Artist Award (2017) and High Museum of Art’s David C. Driskell Prize (2012). The Studio Museum has presented his work in numerous exhibitions, including Freestyle (2001); 30 Seconds off an Inch (2009); and The Bearden Project (2012).