Kanye West reinterpreted it, Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch performed their rendition for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and Aretha Franklin paid tribute to Princess Diana with it. Now, Chicago artist Rashid Johnson is using the title of the 1929 gospel hymn I’ll Fly Away for his current solo exhibition 'Fly Away', on view at Hauser & Wirth New York until 22 October.
'Fly Away' explores history, escapism and Johnson’s personal identity, taking up four rooms of Hauser & Wirth’s massive West 18th Street space. It begins with a gallery dedicated to his Untitled Anxious Audience series, which comprises groups of crude, square-shaped faces painted onto a tile surface with black soap and wax. Johnson says he considers them to be distinct faces. 'I can very much attempt to produce the complexity of multiple characters, and that’s what my goal is with this work,' he explains. 'I want them to share characteristics, but I don’t consider them to be the same person.'
Johnson’s Escape collages take up the next room. Made of ceramic tile, black soap, wax, vinyl and enamel, the works feature imagery of palm trees, blacked out by the African soap. 'If I was an artist from Florida, or from Haiti, or somewhere where indigenously they would have these tropical environments, I think this work would be very different. I happen to be from Chicago, so the idea of getting near a palm tree scenario was like a success story.'
The focal point of the exhibition is, without doubt, the enormous installation of Antoine’s Organ. In it, a grid of black steel shelving holds plants, shea butter – a material often used in Johnson’s work – growing lights and books, four monitors playing video art and a giant piano, where pianist Antoine Baldwin will play at selected times.
The exhibition takes viewers into Johnson’s complexly layered history, utilising elements that touch on his own identity. Next year, 'Fly Away' will travel to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri.
The focal point of the exhibition is, without doubt, the enormous installation of Antoine’s Organ. In it, a grid of black steel shelving holds plants, shea butter – a material often used in Johnson’s work – growing lights and books, four monitors playing video art and a giant piano. Pictured: Antoine’s Organ, 2016
Johnson’s Escape collages are made of ceramic tile, black soap, wax, vinyl and enamel, the works feature imagery of palm trees, blacked out by the African soap. Pictured: Untitled Escape Collages, 2016
Johnson’s Untitled Anxious Audience series comprises groups of crude, square-shaped faces painted onto a tile surface with black soap and wax. Pictured: Untitled Anxious Audience, 2016
The exhibition takes viewers into Johnson’s complexly layered history. Pictured left: Falling Man, 2015. Right: Untitled (detail), 2016
INFORMATION
’Fly Away’ is on view until 22 October. For more information, visit the Hauser & Wirth website
Photography: Martin Parsekain. Copyright the artist, courtesy Hauser & Wirth
ADDRESS
Hauser & Wirth
511 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
-
Wallpaper* checks in at the refreshed W Hollywood: ‘more polish and less party’The W Hollywood introduces a top-to-bottom reimagining by the Rockwell Group, capturing the genuine warmth and spirit of Southern California
-
Book a table at Row on 5 in London for the dinner party of dreamsRow on 5, located on the storied Savile Row, emerges as a perfectly tailored fit for fans of fine dining
-
How a bijou jewellery salon in Monaco set the jewellery trends for 2025Inside the inaugural edition of Joya, where jewellery is celebrated as miniature works of art
-
Inside the distorted world of artist George RouyFrequently drawing comparisons with Francis Bacon, painter George Rouy is gaining peer points for his use of classic techniques to distort the human form
-
Inside Luna Luna: the amusement park designed by artists lands in New York‘Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy’ – featuring rides by Basquiat, Lichtenstein, Hockney, Haring, and Dalí – has opened at The Shed
-
Henni Alftan’s paintings frame everyday moments in cinematic renditionsConcurrent exhibitions in New York and Shanghai celebrate the mesmerising mystery in Henni Alftan’s paintings
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary artAs Jack Whitten exhibition ‘Speedchaser’ opens at Hauser & Wirth, London, and before a major retrospective at MoMA opens next year, we explore the American artist's impact
-
The lesser-known Los Angeles galleries contributing to a vibrant art sceneOutside of LACMA, MOCA and The Broad, these independent LA galleries are major players in the art world
-
Brutalism in film: the beautiful house that forms the backdrop to The Room Next DoorThe Room Next Door's production designer discusses mood-boarding and scene-setting for a moving film about friendship, fragility and the final curtain
-
'There’s an anxiety under all of it': Violet Dennison in New YorkViolet Dennison debuts abstract paintings with new show 'Damaged Self' at Tara Downs Gallery
-
‘Gas Tank City’, a new monograph by Andrew Holmes, is a photorealist eye on the American West‘Gas Tank City’ chronicles the artist’s journey across truck-stop America, creating meticulous drawings of fleeting moments
