# Rashid Johnson artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/rashid-johnson/
Profile generated: 2026-05-30T05:55:01.494Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: American
- Movements: Post-Black art, Conceptual art
- Common media: Sculpture, Photography, Installation art, Painting

## About Rashid Johnson

Rashid Johnson (born 1977, United States) is a contemporary American artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, photography, and large-scale installation. He is widely associated with the post-black art movement, a term describing work by African American artists who explore race, identity, and cultural memory while resisting reductive categorization. Johnson gained early critical recognition in 2001 when Thelma Golden included his work in the landmark exhibition Freestyle at the Studio Museum in Harlem. He studied at Columbia College Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work is held in major museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and has been exhibited internationally. Johnson is also active as a film director, broadening his conceptual practice into moving-image media.

## Common works and media

Common work types encountered in appraisal and auction contexts include mixed-media panel paintings, shelf assemblage sculptures incorporating everyday objects and books, charcoal or ink figurative drawings (particularly the Anxious Audiences series), photographic works, and room-scale installations. Materials often include black soap, wax, shea butter, tile, wood, plants, and found objects. Edition sizes for photographic works and prints vary and should be verified on a per-work basis.

## Market and appraisal context

Rashid Johnson is a highly visible figure in the contemporary art market, with over 200 auction records documented. His most recognizable bodies of work include textured panel paintings incorporating materials such as black soap, wax, and shea butter, as well as shelf-based assemblage sculptures and his Anxious Audiences series. Valuation depends heavily on medium, scale, provenance, and exhibition history. Large-scale paintings and installations tend to achieve the strongest results at auction. Collectors should verify authenticity through gallery documentation, as Johnson's work is actively traded across major contemporary art sales.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum, library authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. This page draws on the Getty Union List of Artist Names, VIAF, Wikidata, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and published biographical references.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7294901
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/81732712/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500475066
- RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/372428
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashid_Johnson
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/42465
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2009177723