Rashid Johnson was born in Chicago and lives in New York. Known for producing conceptual post-black art (a term coined by curator Thelma Golden and artist Glen Ligon in the 1990s) – pieces that explore the complexities of being African American in contemporary US society – Johnson is used to working within a distinctly American context. But for two months this summer, the artist and his family relocated to sleepy Somerset, for a residency at the Hauser and Wirth gallery. In this intriguing solo show, Johnson presents the work he produced during this period. Inspired by James Baldwin’s essay Stranger in the Village, which describes the author’s experiences as a young African American man living in a small village in Switzerland during the 1950s, Johnson explores the themes of escape, and of being a “stranger”, through a variety of materials and mediums. There are black steel structures with “foreign” tropical plants and giant lumps of yellow shea butter from Africa lodged inside them, followed by a series of Anxious drawings scrawled in black oil, and a neon sign shouting at you to “Run”. A series of large-scale Beach collages concludes the show. Made up of layers of vinyl depicting tropical beach scenes, smeared black soap and dribbled oil, they are inspired by the artist’s childhood daydreams of success and escape.
Rashid Johnson: Stranger. Hauser & Wirth, Somerset, until 10 September
