Rashid Johnson. Within Our Gates

Rashid Johnson (b. 1977) is based in New York. He was born in Chicago to an African History professor and a CB radio enthusiast who owned a small electronics and radio communication company: “I grew up between my father’s laboratory and my mother’s library,” Johnson has remarked. These contrasting views on the world have been an influence ever since.

Earning a BA in photography from Columbia College in Chicago in 2000, and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004, by May 2001 he had made his debut in New York in the seminal group show Freestyle at the Studio Museum in Harlem, curated by Thelma Golden, which introduced the concept of “post-black” through a new generation of artists. But it wasn’t until 2008, three years after he finally moved to New York City, that he received his first solo show at Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery. Since then, Johnson’s star has been on the rise and he has rocketed to prominence, presenting shows at major institutions and galleries in both the US and abroad, including the 2011 Venice Biennale; a survey show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (2012) which traveled to the Miami Art Museum; the High Museum, Atlanta; and the Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis; as well as large-scale solo exhibitions at the South London Gallery (2012); Ballroom Marfa, Texas (2013) which traveled to the MCA Denver in 2014; the George Economou Collection in Athens (2014); and most recently at the Drawing Center in New York (2015).

His work can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago; High Museum, Atlanta; and the Miami Art Museum; among other institutions.

Garage Atrium Commissions provide opportunities for artists to develop site-specific artworks for the Entrance Hall of the Museum. The first series of its kind in Russia, the commissions respond to the scale of the 9.5-meter (31ft) high, 10-meter (33ft) wide space, which can be viewed from all floors of the building. Presented twice a year, in spring and fall, the series has included new works by Erik Bulatov (June 2015), and an installation by Rashid Johnson (spring 2016). Forthcoming in fall 2016 is a new work developed by Chinese artist Yin Xiuzhen.