This week in Paris, the visionary Rashid Johnson raises the curtain on “Anima” at Hauser & Wirth Paris, a spiritual and expressive presentation currently on view through December 21. One of the most profound contemporary artists of our time, Johnson offers an absorbing series of new pieces including sculpture, painting, and film. Here, the ever-evolving and poetic artist delves deeply into animism—the soulful realm of all living beings as well as objects.
In their inaugural gallery show, Johnson’s Soul Paintings and God Paintings—works which the artist has devoted years to develop—are placed in spellbinding conversation with bronze sculptures. Highly textured and revealing the luminary’s every thoughtful mark, these pieces give way to a new film titled “Sanguine,” focusing on Johnson’s father and son in relation to himself.
Installation view of Rashid Johnson’s “Anima” at Hauser & Wirth Paris, courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth Paris.
Rashid Johnson Invites Audiences on a Personal and Artistic Pilgrimage
“Interiority has always been essential in my project…There’s a sense of soul searching, a sense of intimacy that is necessary for me to explore,” said Johnson.
The magnetic show, rooted in animism, invites audiences on a highly personal pilgrimage to unearth the energy flowing through everything and everyone—as well within each of Johnson’s vigorous pieces. “Anima” refers to an ongoing endeavor for the artist, peeling away the exterior one delicate layer at a time.
Within this project, Johnson summons the book “The Sovereignty of Quiet” by Kevin Quashie and its probing of human emotions. “I was thinking about this idea of warmth, the idea of vulnerability, and how one begins the process of illustrating the soul,” said Johnson.
“There’s a sense of soul searching, a sense of intimacy that is necessary for me to explore,”
—Rashid Johnson
Installation view of Rashid Johnson’s “Anima” at Hauser & Wirth Paris, courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth Paris.
“Soul Paintings” and “God Paintings” Evoke the Skeletal and the Spiritual
The dynamic artist’s signature almond-shaped vesica piscis unfold in entrancing horizontal patterns across the prismatic Soul Paintings, and visions of the organic and the skeletal seem to emerge from the canvas. Overlapping shapes, colors, and textures evoke a surreal criss-crossing of emotions and entities—that which we might only ever sense but can’t put into words.
Within the God Paintings, a vertical assemblage of these designs, with the addition of crimson oil paint, unfurls as a sonorous, visual chant enveloping viewers in the glories of repetition. Utilizing both a skillful wet-on-wet painting technique, as well as allowing for interludes of drying, culminates in a rapturously orchestrated series of dramas and reflections.
“I’ve always had a real enthusiasm for, for multiple exposure, how an image can be made, and another image can then live on the surface of that image,” explained Johnson.
Installation view of Rashid Johnson’s “Anima” at Hauser & Wirth Paris, courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth Paris.
A Rich Palette, Evocative Materials, and Beckoning Sculptures Intermingle at “Anima”
Throughout “Anima,” a rich palette heated by reds and cooled by blues is balanced with milky shades of off-white and respites of landscape brown. The earthiness of Soul Painting “I Feel For You”’ (2024) and Soul Painting “Nobody”’ (2024) stand out as terrestrial yet alien, with materials like black soap and shea butter bringing powerful historical significance with new dimensions.
An intimate parade of bronze sculptures are enhanced by shells, while Standing Soul Sculptures crafted with wire forms speak to autonomy and self-determination. Red, chair-shaped bronze sculptures with phrases such as “Big Red Peaches,” “Down Home,” and “Rose Drop” within their enigmatic titles are placed within the show in an inward circle, beckoning a private and universal exchange of heart.
Installation view of Rashid Johnson’s “Anima” at Hauser & Wirth Paris, courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth Paris.
