Renowned for his multifaceted approach and embodiment of the uncertainty of our t.mes , Rashid Johnson speaks to a world filled with impulse and overstimulation while also reflecting on his personal journey. Working with diverse and numerous media forms, Johnson uses the physicality of his chosen materials to investigate the construction of identity – both visual and conceptual. Many of the materials used reference his own childhood as well as African American history and cultural identity, and in doing so Johnson simultaneously creates both a deeply personal and broader cultural narrative.

Rashid Johnson's Untitled Escape Collage from 2017 belongs to a group of large-scale paintings of kaleidoscopic colour and ephemeral collage that incorporate the vestiges of the artist's life in America, as well as symbols of the contemporary African-American experience, to create his layered, complex symphony of materials. Within this series, Johnson constructs multiple facets of his own personal identity through assemblages of wallpaper patterning created from stock photographs of tropicalia. These are collaged over ceramic tiles that have been splattered and marked with colour spray paint and swathed in black soap, which the artist has also utilised in his portraiture, and wax. Weaving in photographic images of indigenous masks, Johnson's combination of abstraction and figuration produces a narrative of the African American experience replete with imagery. Across its highly active surface, critic Roberta Smith has observed that Johnson's assemblages "create an Edenic mood...The works are completed (or elegantly defaced) with spray paint, scratchy daubs of black soap and big, velvety pours of the melted soap mixture" (R. Smith, "In 'Fly Away,' Rashid Johnson Keeps the Focus on Race," The New York t.mes s, 15 September, 2016).

Although these compositions could appear suggestive of black culture, in general, certain elements point directly towards Johnson's more personal experiences. Replete with emotional symbolism, the present work embodies an act of longing and optimism on the part of the artist. Recalling the image of palm trees as a child in Chicago, tropical vegetation has come to stand for whimsical dreaming for Johnson; "As a kid I remember thinking that if you could actually live in a place with palm trees, if you could get away from the city and the cold, that.mes ant you'd definitely made it" (the artist, quoted in "Among The Palm Trees: Rashid Johnson at the Milwaukee Art Museum", Chicago Gallery News, 23 May 2017). Gathering together disparate elements of personal and parasocial history, Untitled Escape Collage revels in juxtaposition - between material and paraphernalia - yet is brought together by Johnson's use of paint. Replete with shades of green, yellow and red, the chromatic vibrancy of the present work is in stark contrast to the typical sparse compositions of Johnson's previous series. Offering a landscape of flora and fauna to explore, the present work is a test.mes nt to Johnson's ability to redefine the narrative surrounding art made by black artists, while creating meaningful, impactful, and beautiful works in the process.

拉希德・約翰遜以層出不窮的創作手法及透過作品刻劃動盪不安的時代而見稱。對於衝動行事的人類、充滿刺激的世界，約翰遜勇於透過作品發表看法，同時亦反思個人經歷。他善於運用多種創作媒材，透過所選素材的質感探討身份建構（包括視覺和概念）。使用的不少素材皆與其童年經歷和美國黑人的歷史及文化身份有密不可分的關係，其敘事內容亦涵蓋個人與文化層面。

《無題（起初）》（2021）中，大膽鮮明的綠葉和圖形喚起洛杉磯和南加州的風土人情，但此作的構圖其實更是啓發自藝術家的過去。2021 年，本作亮相於厲蔚閣香港空間為藝術家舉辦的亞洲首場個展「喬爾 ‧ 梅斯勒：起初」，成爲焦點。梅斯勒通過追溯兒時的夢景來構思這些創作：「這些畫作來自我的童年回憶，那些父母不在家的夜晚……當我入睡時，這些回憶碎片會隨著我進入快速眼動睡眠，開始盤旋於腦海之中。父母離家前對我說：『親愛的，你值得更好的』、『這個世界是屬於你的』。我房間的牆紙上的動物，會與我母親外套上的皮草、衣服的顏色、香水及古龍水的氣味融爲一體……這次展出的畫作，描繪了我和父母入夜後，我的夢中風景。」（喬爾・梅斯勒，摘自「喬爾 ‧ 梅斯勒：起初」新聞稿，厲蔚閣，2021年6 月）。在茂盛的枝葉裏，藝術家組合了獨特的圖形風格和迷人色彩，描繪出人類的進化，並將其延伸至未來，在最後階段將兩個人物合二為一。透過將這些奇幻想像與人類發展史聯繫起來，梅斯勒將他的個人回憶帶到集體文化以及人類普世價值的跟前，產生共鳴。

《無題 逃脫拼貼》創作於2020 年，來自的一個大型作品系列，該系列的色彩猶如萬花筒般絢麗，拼貼手法變幻莫測，融入約翰遜在美國生活的點滴痕跡及當代美國黑人的標誌性元素，譜寫出一首層次分明、錯綜複雜的交響樂。在該系列中，約翰遜利用熱帶海灘照片，拼貼出桌面壁紙般的構圖，展示個人身份的多個面向。他將這些作品拼貼在瓷磚上，然後再在瓷磚上進行彩色噴漆，塗上黑皂和蠟，他亦曾用黑皂創作肖像畫。約翰遜把土著面具的照片交織在一起，結合抽象與具象手法，以豐富意象闡述美國黑人的經歷和故事。評論家蘿勃塔·史密斯認為，約翰遜的拼貼作品「透過異常活躍的表層營造出伊甸園般的氛圍……這些作品採用了噴漆、塗抹粗糙黑皂和大量柔軟的融化肥皂混合物來完成；或者說，以優雅的方式破壞。」（蘿勃塔·史密斯，摘自〈Fly Away,’ Rashid Johnson Keeps the Focus on Race〉，《紐約時報》，2016 年 9 月 15 日）。

雖然這些作品看似暗喻黑人文化，但整體而言，當中有很多元素均與畫家的個人經歷密不可分。在本作中，約翰遜選取很多帶有情感色彩的象徵，表達自身的渴望與樂觀。他還記得兒時在芝加哥對棕櫚樹的印象，如今這種熱帶植物在他心中，已標誌著異想天開的夢想: 「我記得小時候曾經想過，如果能住在一個有棕櫚樹的地方，遠離城市和寒冷天氣，那就代表你很成功。」（拉希德・約翰遜，摘自〈 Among The Palm Trees: Rashid Johnson at the Milwaukee Art Museum〉，《芝加哥藝廊新聞》(Chicago Gallery News)，2017 年 5 月 23 日）《無題 逃脫拼貼》探討個人和超社會歷史等主題，透過顏料的巧妙運用糅合不同素材和日常用品，並以綠、黃、紅為主色調，色彩鮮明，充滿活力，與約翰遜以往系列作品中典型的稀疏構圖大相逕庭。這幅滿佈奇花異草的作品充分證明他擅於闡述黑人藝術家的創作體驗及創造意義深遠、舉足輕重、瑰麗多姿的作品。