Hooks-Epstein Galleries is proud to present INTENTIONAL, a solo exhibition for Houston-based printmaker and mixed media artist, Ann Johnson. The exhibition opens at 11:00AM on Saturday, February 22, 2025 with an Artist Reception taking place from 5:00–7:00 P.M.
The artwork of Ann Johnson is often described as intentional. Her work is created with the intent of generating conversation—to have viewer’s look into the work, not simply at the work. With her pieces in "INTENTIONAL", Johnson continues to push the printmaking medium, showcasing a collection of transfer prints on hand-formed and molded concrete. The series is inspired by her residency in 2024 at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and the Freedmen’s Town Conservancy in Houston’s Fourth Ward—a project in which Johnson printed images of current Freedmen’s Town residents onto handcrafted bricks, honoring and acknowledging the historic brick paved streets. Johnson also tributes her fellow ROUX artists (Lovie Olivia, Rabéa Ballin, and Delita Martin) in the exhibition, highlighting each member of the Houston-based collective for her intentional artistic practice. Further exploring themes of history, identity, and politics, other works in the exhibition include boxing gloves, sneakers, and an ironing board.
Johnson’s work has been shown nationally in various solo, group, and juried exhibitions. She currently has a solo exhibition, "LOVE + Basketball: My Freedom Gotta Rim On It", at the Museum of the African Diaspora through March 2, 2025 (San Francisco, CA). Her work is also presently being featured in a group exhibition, "Blackland Prairies", through March 8, 2025 at the University of Texas’ Visual Arts Center (Austin, TX). In 2023, Johnson was noted as one of ten artists in Black Art in America’s “10 Most Transformational Artists of the Year”. She was also an awardee of the BIPOC Arts Network and Fund (BANF) artist grant in 2023.
