Today, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers, a major solo exhibition running through January 18th, 2026. Featuring nearly 90 works, the show spans three decades of Johnson’s career, from black soap paintings and video works to large-scale sculpture and live performance. Known for weaving together Black history, philosophy, music, and literature, Johnson redefines what contemporary art can feel and sound like.
At the heart of the exhibition is Sanguine, a monumental site-specific installation on the museum’s top ramp that includes a functioning piano used in weekly live performances. On the rotunda floor below, a sculptural stage hosts collaborations with local cultural organizations, turning the museum into a living, breathing space of community exchange.
Also featured is The New Negro Escapist Social and Athletic Club, a photographic series exploring self-presentation and historical identity. Johnson’s Anxious Men and Broken Men paintings confront vulnerability and collective emotion through expressive, gestural mark-making.
Curated by Naomi Beckwith and Andrea Karnes, the show positions Johnson as both a storyteller and a cultural builder. In her words, he doesn’t just examine personal experience—he creates platforms for others. The exhibition will travel to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth after its New York run.
The Broken Five, 2019 (detail)
Courtesy of RASHID JOHNSON, photography by MARTIN PARSEKIAN