Rashid Johnson: Smile, Hauser & Wirth

Smile, may be the upbeat name of artist Rashid Johnson’s first solo show at Hauser & Wirth London, but the various themes explored in this exhibition are more much complex. The title of the show takes its name from a celebrated photograph by Elliott Erwitt, where a young black boy grins broadly while holding a gun to his head. The image is both tragic and joyful, and this tension underpins the tone of this new contemporary art exhibition in London.
What can we expect at this Hauser & Wirth exhibition?
African American history, pop culture, and the free circulation of ideas are just some of the themes alluded to in Rashid Johnson’s art, photographs and sculptures.
These ideas also manifest in the London base of Hauser & Wirth as an intricately crafted stack. Piled high are books by prominent African American authors, LP sleeves, houseplants, radios, stones and shea butter – the substance derived from the African shea nut used in moisturisers and cosmetics.
To many, this assortment of objects might seem rather random and their meaning downright puzzling. However, as curator and Frieze magazine contributor Tom Morton explains, with perseverance we can see these items as agents of change. He says, ‘by their grace, a mind is expanded and soul gladdened.’ We couldn’t agree more.