Distinct faces: Rashid Johnson explores escapism and identity in ’Fly Away’, at Hauser & Wirth
Kanye West reinterpreted it, Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch performed their rendition for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and Aretha Franklin paid tribute to Princess Diana with it. Now, Chicago artist Rashid Johnson is using the title of the 1929 gospel hymn I’ll Fly Away for his current solo exhibition 'Fly Away', on view at Hauser & Wirth New York until 22 October.
'Fly Away' explores history, escapism and Johnson’s personal identity, taking up four rooms of Hauser & Wirth’s massive West 18th Street space. It begins with a gallery dedicated to his Untitled Anxious Audience series, which comprises groups of crude, square-shaped faces painted onto a tile surface with black soap and wax. Johnson says he considers them to be distinct faces. 'I can very much attempt to produce the complexity of multiple characters, and that’s what my goal is with this work,' he explains. 'I want them to share characteristics, but I don’t consider them to be the same person.'
Johnson’s Escape collages take up the next room. Made of ceramic tile, black soap, wax, vinyl and enamel, the works feature imagery of palm trees, blacked out by the African soap. 'If I was an artist from Florida, or from Haiti, or somewhere where indigenously they would have these tropical environments, I think this work would be very different. I happen to be from Chicago, so the idea of getting near a palm tree scenario was like a success story.'
The focal point of the exhibition is, without doubt, the enormous installation of Antoine’s Organ. In it, a grid of black steel shelving holds plants, shea butter – a material often used in Johnson’s work – growing lights and books, four monitors playing video art and a giant piano, where pianist Antoine Baldwin will play at selected times.
The exhibition takes viewers into Johnson’s complexly layered history, utilising elements that touch on his own identity. Next year, 'Fly Away' will travel to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri.
INFORMATION
’Fly Away’ is on view until 22 October. For more information, visit the Hauser & Wirth website
Photography: Martin Parsekain. Copyright the artist, courtesy Hauser & Wirth
ADDRESS
Hauser & Wirth
511 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Ann Binlot is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer who covers art, fashion, design, architecture, food, and travel for publications like Wallpaper*, the Wall Street Journal, and Monocle. She is also editor-at-large at Document Journal and Family Style magazines.
-
Step inside Juno Omakase, London’s smallest counter dining experience
Juno Omakase, inside Los Mochis Notting Hill, offers a one-of-a-kind tasting menu in which Tokyo meets Tulum
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
‘Help me go faster’: How Nike Air is priming its athletes for Olympic success
Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Nike’s chief design officer Mike Lotti opens up to Wallpaper* about its latest high-performance sneakers, developed alongside world-leading athletes and honed using AI technology
By Ann Binlot Published
-
A new book offers a cinematic view on Molteni & C
‘Molteni Mondo. An Italian Design Story’ published by Rizzoli celebrates 90 years of the Italian furniture company Molteni & C
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
The Met’s ‘The Real Thing: Unpacking Product Photography’ dissects the avant-garde in early advertising
A new exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York explores the role of product photography and advertising in shaping the visual language of modernism
By Zoe Whitfield Published
-
Tony Notarberardino’s Chelsea Hotel Portraits preserve a slice of bygone New York life
‘Tony Notarberardino: Chelsea Hotel Portraits, 1994-2010’, on show at New York’s ACA Galleries, is the photographer’s ode to the storied hotel he calls home and its eclectic clientele
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Who is the future of British art? Hauser & Wirth Somerset finds out
‘Present Tense’ at Hauser & Wirth Somerset showcases some of Britain’s most exciting emerging talents with a group show of 23 artists
By Mary Cleary Published
-
‘LA Gun Club’: artist Jane Hilton on who’s shooting who
‘LA Gun Club’, an exhibition by Jane Hilton at New York’s Palo Gallery, explores American gun culture through a study of targets and shooters
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates Black cinema
‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’ at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) brings lost or forgotten films, filmmakers and performers to a contemporary audience
By Anne Soward Published
-
BLUM marks 30 years of Japanese contemporary art in America
BLUM will take ‘Thirty Years: Written with a Splash of Blood’ to its New York space in September 2024, continuing its celebration of Japanese contemporary art in America
By Timothy Anscombe-Bell Published
-
Todd Gray’s sculptural photography collages defy dimension, linearity and narrative
In Todd Gray’s New York exhibition, he revisits his 40-year archive, fragmented into elaborated frames that open doors for new readings
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Frieze LA 2024 guide: the art, gossip and buzz
Our Frieze LA 2024 guide includes everything you need to know and see in and around the fair
By Renée Reizman Published