Rashid Johnson (born 1977 in Chicago, lives and works in New York) is a sculptor and photographer who works in a wide range of everyday materials, including wax, wood, steel, brass, shea butter, ceramic tile, and such found objects as books, records, VHS tapes, live plants, and CB radios. He finds inspiration in the work of a diverse group of visual artists, actors, musicians, writers, activists, and philosophers, including
Carl Andre,
Joseph Beuys, Eldrige Cleaver, Bruce Conner, Joseph Cornell, David Hammons,
Kasimir Malevitch, Parliament Funkadelic, and
Sun Ra. Often identified with the post-black art movement, Johnson's work engages questions of personal, racial, and cultural identity, producing a unique synthesis of historical and material references that are grounded in African American and art history while expanding into questions of mysticism and cosmology.
