Rashid Johnson
UNTITLED (SURRENDER), 2024
9 colors silkscreen resist with hand applied pigment
48 x 65 in
121.9 x 165.1 cm
Edition of 51
Available at VFA
The September 28th issue of Time Magazine introduces TIME's 100 Most Influential People in Art in 2026.The list includes, not just painters, sculptors, photographers, and other artists, but also curators, lawyers, philanthropists, museum leaders, and others whose work and influence has enhanced the art world.
The influencers have been recognized by category: Leaders, Titans, Icons and Innovators.
Both Rashid Johnson and KAWS have been named Titans of the art world.
Rashid Johnson (b.1977) is called a ‘multimedia maverick” because he paints, sculpts, uses mixed-media for assemblages, creates mosaics, photographs, performs, films, and has even designed men’s magazine covers.
His exhibit, A Poem for Deep Thinkers at the Guggenheim last year included works, done over nearly thirty years, in a variety of medium and media. There were paintings, sculptures, films, live performances and even a garden at the top of the museum, where visitors could rest and contemplate what they had experienced.
Johnson was born and raised in Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Columbia College Chicago and a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
His works are included in the permanent collection of the Whitney, the Guggenheim, MoMA, the Met, the National Gallery and other major venues around the world.
Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers is currently on view at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth through September 27, 2026 and will travel to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, where it will be exhibited from Nov 07, 2026 through April 25, 2027.
Rashid Johnson lives and works in New York
Like Rashid Johnson, the artist KAWS is on the TIMES 100 list in the Titan category. He is recognized as a Commercial Crossover, who bridged the gap between the fine art and commercial art worlds.
KAWS (born Brian Donnelly in New Jersey in 1974) began his career as a graffiti artist. His paintings and sculptures resonate with people of all ages, from different cultures, around the world.
KAWS: Art & Comix, a recent exhibit at the Albertina Modern in Vienna, focused on KAWS ability to create work that combines comics and fine art. The exhibit also included work by Jean Michel Basquiat, Katherine Bernhardt, Red Grooms. Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and other artists whose works combine both high and low art.
KAWS lives and works in Brooklyn.
References:
Sam Jacobs. Introducing TIME's 100 Most Influential People in Art. Time Magazine. September 17, 2026.
Belinda Ruscombe. Rashid Johnson/Multimedia Maverick. Time Magazine. September 17, 2026.
Sphie Caraan. KAWS Reclines a 30-Metre Robot COMPANION by Hangzhou's West Lake for the Latest “KAWS:HOLIDAY”. Hypebeast. September 15, 2026.
Please contact us if you would like more information about the work of Rashid Johnson, KAWS or any of the other fine artists whose works are available at VFA.
