Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers

June 5–November 28, 2027

One of the leading voices of his generation, Rashid Johnson (b. Chicago, 1977) explores the search for freedom—ranging from civil rights to artistic freedom—and the complexity of the human condition. Bringing together more than fifty works spanning Johnson’s career from the 1990s to the present, Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers traces the evolution of the artist’s life and his artistic materials, addressing identity, cultural ancestors, escape, anxiety, the physical body, nature, parenthood, home, and spirituality.

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Rashid Johnson, Self Portrait laying on Jack Johnson’s Grave, 2006; chromogenic print mounted on panel; collection of Dr. Daniel S. Berger. © Rashid Johnson, 2025.
Rashid Johnson, Untitled (Shea Butter Table), 2016; shea butter, Persian rug, and branded walnut; private collection. © Rashid Johnson, 2025. Photo: Martin Parsekian.
Rashid Johnson, Untitled Anxious Audience, 2019; ceramic tile, black soap, and wax; collection of Clara Wu Tsai. © Rashid Johnson, 2025. Photo: Martin Parsekian.
Rashid Johnson, The Hikers, 2019; color video with sound, transferred from 16 mm film; 6:54 min.; collection of High Museum of Art, Atlanta; gift of Charles Roth. © Rashid Johnson, 2025.
Rashid Johnson, God Painting “The Spirit,” 2023; oil on linen; private collection. © Rashid Johnson, 2025. Photo: Stephanie Powell.
Rashid Johnson, Three Broken Souls, 2024; ceramic tile, mirror, branded red oak flooring, spray enamel, oil stick, black soap, wax, bronze, oyster shells, and wood panel. © Rashid Johnson, 2025. Photo: Stephanie Powell.

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Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers

June 5–November 28, 2027

After presentations at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, and Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, BAMPFA is the final venue of a national tour for Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers. This thirty-year retrospective is the largest presentation of Rashid Johnson’s work to date and marks the Bay Area’s first in-depth introduction to his art.

One of the leading voices of his generation, Rashid Johnson (b. Chicago, 1977) explores the search for freedom—ranging from civil rights to artistic freedom—and the complexity of the human condition. Johnson’s mother was a professor of African and African American history, and he came of age immersed in the ideas of the Afrocentric movement in a house full of Black thought and Black writers. This inheritance runs through everything the artist has made since his early years contemplating the questions and answers his mother’s bookshelves held....

One of the leading voices of his generation, Rashid Johnson (b. Chicago, 1977) explores the search for freedom—ranging from civil rights to artistic freedom—and the complexity of the human condition. Johnson’s mother was a professor of African and African American history, and he came of age immersed in the ideas of the Afrocentric movement in a house full of Black thought and Black writers. This inheritance runs through everything the artist has made since his early years contemplating the questions and answers his mother’s bookshelves held.

The exhibition’s title, A Poem for Deep Thinkers, is taken from the poet Amiri Baraka’s 1977 poem of the same name. In this poem, Baraka calls for detached intellectuals to come down “out the clouds” and engage with real-world struggles. With direct references to Baraka and other poets, writers, musicians, and filmmakers throughout his work, Johnson shows how people have turned to art, literature, music, and dance not just to make sense of the world but also to survive it.

This exhibition brings together more than fifty works spanning Johnson’s career, from the 1990s to the present: early Van Dyke photographs printed in warm sepia tones; the Cosmic Slop paintings made with African black soap; large sculptures made with branded wood and shea butter; colorful mosaic murals pieced together with broken tile; ceramic and bronze plant holders that incorporate living greenery; and poetic videos depicting his family. Together these works trace the evolution of the artist’s life and his artistic materials, addressing identity, cultural ancestors, escape, anxiety, the physical body, nature, parenthood, home, and spirituality. Johnson’s work, which is not defined by any one style, has paved the way for other artists whose works shift formally and materially.

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Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers is organized by Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Guggenheim Museum, New York, and Andrea Karnes, Chief Curator, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, with additional support from Faith Hunter, Guggenheim Curatorial Assistant. The presentation at BAMPFA is organized by Julie Rodrigues Widholm, Executive Director, with Tausif Noor, Assistant Curator.