Johnson's practice quickly expanded to embrace a wide range of media—including sculpture, painting, drawing, film making and installation—yielding a complex multidisciplinary practice that incorporates diverse materials rich with symbolism and personal history. His work is known for its narrative embedding of a pointed range of everyday materials and objects, often associated with his childhood and frequently referencing aspects of history and cultural identity. Many of his more recent works delve into existential themes such as personal and collective anxiety, interiority and liminal space.

Recent solo exhibitions include: ‘Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers’, Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, 2025; ‘Seven Rooms and a Garden. Rashid Johnson + Moderna Museet’, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden, 2023; ‘Rashid Johnson. Nudiustertian’, Hauser & Wirth, Hong Kong, 2023; ‘The Chorus’, The Metropolitan Opera, New York, NY, 2021; ‘Summer Projects. Rashid Johnson’, Creative Time, New York, NY, 2021; ‘Rashid Johnson. Capsule’, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 2021; ‘The Crisis’, Storm King Art Center, New Windsor, NY, 2021; ‘Rashid Johnson. Waves’, Hauser & Wirth, London, UK, 2020; the touring exhibition ‘Rashid Johnson. The Hikers’ at the Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO, the Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico and at Hauser & Wirth, New York, NY, 2019; ‘Provocations. Rashid Johnson’, Institute for Contemporary Art, Richmond, VA, 2018; ‘Rashid Johnson. No More Water’ at Lismore Castle Arts, Lismore, Ireland, 2018 and ‘Rashid Johnson. Hail We Now Sing Joy’ at The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO, which traveled to the Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI, 2017.