RASHID JOHNSON LEAVES THE NEXT MEDIUM OPEN

Rashid Johnson TIME recognition is the occasion behind Hauser & Wirth's birthday tribute, which pairs an Erik Tanner portrait with the artist's account of working across media. Johnson's sentence is direct: “I’m not invested in medium specificity,” he told TIME.

The gallery lists painting, sculpture, assemblage, mosaic, photography, film and performance as parts of his practice. That range gives the quotation a concrete setting. Johnson is describing work that already moves between those forms, rather than announcing a departure from one established medium into another.

The question of material can produce very different kinds of art coverage. Jennifer Guidi's sand paintings put a particular substance at the centre of the image. Johnson's statement asks for enough room to follow an artist across several substances and formats.

Erik Tanner's Portrait Keeps the Work Nearby

Hauser & Wirth credits Erik Tanner for TIME with the portrait accompanying its birthday post. Johnson sits in front of a patterned, tiled artwork, so the image keeps a material surface close to the person discussing his practice.

The background is busy enough to remain visible without obscuring the seated figure. Repeated divisions and gestural marks create a second rhythm behind the portrait. The photograph does not need to identify that single work as a summary of Johnson's output; the gallery's list makes clear that no one medium would cover it.

David Kordansky Gallery's artist record also lists Johnson's 2026 TIME recognition. That provides a second documented point for the honour, while the birthday caption supplies the artist's quoted position and the photograph's credit.

A Birthday Post Opens a Question About Viewing

The tribute connects Johnson's TIME recognition with a statement about the viewer's confidence around art. Hauser & Wirth presents that idea alongside the artist's refusal to commit his practice to one medium.

An artist's birthday can also become a reason to revisit a recurring method, as with Daniel Arsham's fictional archaeology. Johnson's post identifies a different organising principle: painting, film and sculpture can belong to the same practice without one format becoming its permanent boundary.

Tanner's portrait and Johnson's own short sentence carry that idea without a career ranking. The artist appears beside a material work, while his words leave the next medium open.