Rashid Johnson’s mid-career survey at the Guggenheim Museum in New York is his largest exhibition to date, with over 90 works spanning three decades. The show offers a fascinating view into Johnson’s mind as it unfolds around the museum’s iconic rotunda. Johnson, who is known for his deeply introspective and sensitive pieces, confronts personal and universal struggles in his work.
In his famed Anxious Men series, he carved frenzied figures onto white bathroom tiles using a mixture of black soap and wax, reflecting his anxiety around Black masculinity and parenthood. The exhibition’s installation in the rotunda illustrates the breadth of Johnson’s practice, both conceptually and materially. Spray-painted text canvases, sculptural installations incorporating black soap and shea butter, and videos are displayed throughout the space.
Johnson’s expansive Guggenheim exhibition
At the top of the rotunda, a sprawling site-specific installation composed of gridded steel structures with live potted plants, books by influential Black authors, and videos is mounted. Plants, including full-sized palm trees, are suspended from the ceiling, appearing to float in mid-air.
“Rashid Johnson’s particular intervention is a wonderful echo of Frank Lloyd Wright’s desire to always have living plants in the building,” says Naomi Beckwith, deputy director and chief curator of the Guggenheim. “Like Wright, Rashid believes that a museum is a living, breathing entity that can house vivacity and life—not just still objects.”
A robust series of performances and public programs will also take place on a stage that Johnson designed for the rotunda floor. “I see this as an opportunity for me to learn from them and understand how other people are seeing the world,” says Johnson.
The artist urges visitors to return to the exhibition, saying, “Just give me two days. Two visits.” The exhibition is on view at the Guggenheim through January 18, 2026, before traveling to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
