Rashid Johnson: The Hikers
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Rashid Johnson: The Hikers
February 21–July 19, 2026
Media Arts Watch Gallery
In his seven-minute video, The Hikers (2019), Rashid Johnson presents a chance encounter between two Black men in an environment where they never expected to see each other. Two masked men—one ascending, the other descending—come upon each other in the mountains in Aspen, Colorado. They dance, and in an exquisite moment of recognition, they remove their masks that manifest anxiety. What unfolds is a narrative of connection, an exchange of platonic love, and independence.
About his concept for this work, Johnson stated, “I kept thinking of making a film like Swan Lake. I thought of this as a ballet about these two men who were put outside in a place where they are different.” He asked himself, “What are the movements like when a Black man is walking past a police officer? Or when a Black man is suffering from agoraphobia?” Rendered by Johnson with his iconic Anxious Men imagery, the masks worn by the hikers convey psychological tension associated with Black male experiences in contemporary American society. The illustrated expressions are closely related to the mosaic faces of Broken Pavilion, Johnson’s public artwork in MAG’s Centennial Sculpture Park.
The Hikers was created in collaboration with choreographer Claudia Schreier. The poetic film journeys through the internal vulnerability inherent to navigating new reality, shared awareness, and recognition of autonomy.
About the Artist
Rashid Johnson (born 1977) is among an influential cadre of contemporary American artists whose work employs a wide range of media to explore themes of art history, individual and shared cultural identities, personal narratives, literature, philosophy, materiality, and critical history. His practice includes sculpture, painting, drawing, film making, and installation—with many of Johnson’s more recent works, such as The Hikers (2019) and Broken Pavilion (2022–23), delving into existential themes such as personal and collective anxiety, interiority, and resilience.
Image: Rashid Johnson, still from The Hikers, 2019, 16mm film transferred to digital with sound, 7 minutes 4 seconds. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
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