RASHID JOHNSON
‘Untitled Anxious Drawing’
2018
Oil on cotton fiber
152.4 x 213.4 cm

American artist Rashid Johnson (born in 1977) is recognized for his multifaceted practice that engages with themes of identity, history, memory, and the complexities of Black experience. Born in Chicago, Johnson studied at Columbia College Chicago and gained prominence in the early 2000s with work that combined sculpture, painting, photography, and installation. Across his practice, he explores how materials, symbols, and cultural references intersect to construct narratives about race, social power, and personal experience. Johnson often blends everyday materials with metaphoric elements, creating works that are simultaneously intimate, psychological, and socially resonant.

‘Untitled Anxious Drawing’ (2018) comes from Johnson’s ongoing Anxious Men series, first presented in 2015 at the Drawing Center in New York. The series addresses the theme of anxiety, which permeates Johnson’s broader practice. Each drawing depicts a grid of rudimentary male faces, painted with black soap and wax on white tiles. The frenzied, gestural marks of Johnson’s hand emphasize the titular anxiety of the figures—their eyes spiral and mouths zigzag—conveying psychological tension and vulnerability. The work draws on monochrome, repetition, and grid structures to create a formal rigor that contrasts with the emotional intensity of the imagery.

Like much of Johnson’s practice, ‘Untitled Anxious Drawing’ blends personal, cultural, and social commentary. The work responds to the contemporary social and political climate, reflecting on collective apprehension while also referencing Johnson’s own childhood in Chicago and the Afrocentric values instilled by his parents. By combining abstraction, figuration, and self-referential materials, Johnson transforms seemingly simple portraits into a meditation on the human condition, memory, and the persistent pressures of societal structures.

In the context of Johnson’s broader practice, ‘Untitled Anxious Drawing’ exemplifies his commitment to exploring identity, emotion, and the interplay between personal and collective experience. The work demonstrates how abstraction and repetition can convey psychological depth, inviting viewers into an intimate, contemplative engagement with the material and conceptual dimensions of contemporary life.