Review | Rashid Johnson at the Guggenheim Museum of Art
Rashid Johnson's most expansive institutional presentation to date, A Poem for Deep Thinkers, is on view at the Guggenheim Museum until January 18, 2026.
The moment you walk into the museum you begin to be immersed in the environment that Johnson is creating. Plants hang down from the ceiling, mimicking his Sanguine sculptures.
A Poem for Deep Thinkers occupies the spiraling rotunda of the Guggenheim with undeniable force, ambition, and vulnerability. The exhibition engages directly with the museum’s iconic architecture, inviting viewers into a layered exploration of interior space—both physical and emotional. Johnson, known for his multimedia practice rooted in themes of identity, anxiety, and Black intellectual history, uses the Guggenheim’s circular form to guide visitors through an unfolding narrative of presence and reflection.
As you ascend the ramp into the rotunda, you are met with large-scale works tucked inside the first gallery of the museum. As you make your way up the ramp, you are confronted with paintings, photos, sculptures, videos, and other mixed media works until you get to the top, where Johnson's classic and, in this case site-specific, Sanguine sculptures are all around you.
At the heart of the show is a new body of large-scale Bruise paintings and Surrender paintings, as well as immersive installations that transform the museum into a site of contemplation and openness. The title of the show is poetic and evocative, suggesting an invitation to step into a slower, more considered space.
The paintings, made with a dense mix of materials, evoke physical and emotional wounds. Their textured surfaces, filled with symbolic imagery and gestural marks, suggest a blend of personal and collective histories.
Equally impactful are the bronze sculptures. Contorted and expressive, they sit on tiled plinths that reference both classical pedestals and contemporary altars. These figures convey a strong tension between vulnerability and strength, presence and collapse, and bring a powerful physicality to the institutional space.
I first saw Rashid Johnson's work nearly a decade ago at a gallery in Chelsea. They have and always will be something that I could spend an immense amount of time with. Exploring every shelf of his installations, looking at all the markings of his Anxious Men paintings, or all the details in his collage works.
This exhibition does a good job of highlighting the breadth of Johnson's works, while allowing for the viewer to take their time with each piece. Even on a crowded day, going around the rotunda of the museum did not feel overwhelming like it has at other times. There seemed to be space for everyone in the galleries, as well as the little nooks that house Johnson's video works.
Johnson’s use of living plants, books, shea butter, and video throughout the exhibition draws from his well-established material vocabulary. These elements are meant to feel organic, evolving, and lived-in, offering moments of intimacy that contrast with the scale of the museum itself. While the Guggenheim’s architecture is monumental, Johnson’s work manages to introduce warmth and immediacy into the space.
A Poem for Deep Thinkers does not present a linear narrative. Instead, it opens up a meditative space in which the viewer can consider how Black interior life is shaped by and resists structures of power, visibility, and expectation. Johnson’s strength lies in creating environments where multiple ideas can coexist: beauty with pain, intellect with emotion, vulnerability with monumentality.
A Poem for Deep Thinkers is an excellent example of how an artist's intention can come to life in an institutional space. With such a long run time, you will not want to miss this exhibition.
SOMMETA Review | Experiencing “Edges of Ailey”
It is a Friday night at the Whitney Museum of American Art. This is the one night of the week that they are open the latest and also have free entry for all visitors. This is the only night this week I was able to make it, so while I would usually prefer to explore the galleries of the museum at a calmer time, I set out to see this exhibition when it will undoubtedly be packed.
Nearing the museum, you can see waves of people coming and going. After waiting in a fast-moving line to get in, the lobby is filled with people wearing a range of different styles for their evening attire. Where we usually buy tickets is now an area with scattered tables and spaces for people to mingle, with a DJ playing pop/R&B music by the windows. Once I obtain my ticket online, I wait in an ever-growing group of people to take the elevator. Finally, the large elevator doors open, and after people pour out of it, we all pile in, making the most of the enormous elevator. It goes straight to the fifth floor. The doors open, we've arrived at the Edges of Ailey.
The gallery is filled with people, there's music playing, and a video installation of Ailey's performances is being projected along the top of the back wall. The walls have been painted a deep red color, and the lights are a dim yellow, creating an intimate vibe despite the mass of people (groups, pairs, individuals) who are all about the gallery to see the exhibition. I note the layout and plan the best way to go around the exhibition to see everything on view. It takes well over an hour for me to go through the entirety of the show, which is an immersive journey into the layers of Ailey's work, from influences of his formative years to those he went on to influence with his work, and everything in between. The exhibition, featuring close peers, muses, mentors, and collaborators, does not shy away from offering an insight into the life of Alvin Ailey, whose legacy in the world of dance, performance, and American culture is celebrated.
Alvin Ailey is an American visionary artist and choreographer who was born in Rogers, Texas, in 1931, passing in New York, New York, in 1989 at the age of 58. In 1958, Ailey founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. It is now the largest modern dance company in the United States.
Edges of Ailey will be on view at the Whitney through February 9th. There will also be the rare opportunity to experience intimate live performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II, along with workshops, classes, and student showcases, as part of a monthly residency program. So check out their schedule to reserve tickets to their program in advance!