Rashid Johnson

RASHID JOHNSON (CHICAGO, 1977).
"Untitled Anxious Print, 2023.
Soft ground etching on 300 g Hahnemühle Copperplate paper.
Accompanied by a book in its editorial folder.
Edition of 100 copies.
Hand signed.
Not individually numbered, marked in pencil with "/100".
Provenance: acquired from the publisher by the present owner.
Measurements: 22.86 × 20.32 cm (print); 22.8 × 20.4 cm (paper); 38.2 × 32.5 × 60 cm (folder).

This work is part of the renowned Anxious Men series by Rashid Johnson, one of the most influential contemporary artists of his generation. Through a gestural and seemingly spontaneous language, Johnson constructs schematic faces that condense complex emotions linked to anxiety, identity and the African-American experience in the contemporary context.

The "soft ground" etching technique brings a tactile and expressive quality to the stroke, reinforcing the immediacy of the gesture and the almost automatic character of the drawing.

Rashid Johnson is a key figure in contemporary art, especially for his exploration of African-American identity, cultural history, and individual and collective psychology.

Trained at the Art Institute of Chicago, Johnson gained early recognition for his use of symbolically charged materials-such as shea butter, black soap, or plants-and for his interest in critical theory and literature. His Anxious Men series has become one of his most emblematic bodies of work, characterized by expressive figures that embody contemporary emotional tensions.

He has exhibited at leading institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Hayward Gallery in London, establishing himself as an essential voice in today's international art scene.