ann 'sole sister' johnson
Born in London, England and raised in Cheyenne, WY, Ann is a graduate of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, (where she now teaches) and received a BS in Home Economics. She has also received an MA in Humanities from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, as well as an MFA from The Academy of Art University, in San Francisco with a concentration in printmaking. Primarily an interdisciplinary artist, Johnson’s passion for exploring issues particularly in the Black community has led her to create series’ of works that are evocative and engaging. Her series Converse: Real Talk has been exhibited at Women and Their Work in Austin, TX, The Kansas City Art Institute, and The Community Folk Art Center in Syracuse, NY. She has been acknowledged as an “Artist to Watch” by the International Review of African American Art, and is a member of the Bearden 100 (honoring artist Romare Bearden). She is co-founder of the organization PrintMatters and PrintHouston and is a member of the ROUX Collective. Johnson was included in the Texas Biennial in 2013, and 2021. Johnson has been an invited resident at: The Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, CA, The Plains Fine Art Museum in Fargo, ND, The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, and she was the resident guest artist at Kansas City Art Institute in 2023. Johnson was a Contemporary Arts Houston CAMLAB 2023 Artist in Residence in collaboration with the Freedmen's Town Conservancy. She was an inaugural grant recipient of the Bipoc Artist Network Fund (BANF). She was an Artadia Finalist in 2024. Johnson has exhibited at The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, TX, Project Row Houses, Houston, TX, Tisdale Beach Institute, Savannah, GA, Charles H. Wright Museum, Flint, MI, The High Point Center for Printmaking, Minneapolis, MN, Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem, NY, and The California African American Art Museum in Los Angeles, CA. Johnson has written articles for Uppercase and School Arts magazine (Davis). She has written and designed a number of books for her own Solefolio Press. In 2023 Johnson was listed as one of the most transformative artists of the year by Black Art In America. Johnson is represented by Hooks Epstein Gallery in Houston, TX, and Spillman Blackwell Fine Art in New Orleans, LA.
CONVERSE REAL TALK (VIDEO)
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ARTICLES I FEATURES
- Hand Papermaking Magazine (Featured)
- Mid Atlantic Printmakers Association Journal (Featured)
- Art & Culture, TX Magazine
- Cordella Book (Featured)
- Slowed & Throwed (CAMH Catalog)
- Uppercase Magazine Edition 52 (Authored)
TALKS I PANELS
- PrintAustin Art as Activism
- University of Illinois Sole II Soul
- Kansas City Art Institute Sole II Soul
- Museum of Southeast Texas ROUX
- Southwest School of Art ROUX
- MPAC–Mid Atlantic Printmakers Association Conference Black Women of Print
- Howard University Art as Activism
- Knowhere Gallery Black Women of Print
- Texas Southern University Connections to the Tre
- Art Collections of HBCU’s DAP and Sirius XM
- Presidential Panel Southern Graphics Council International
- Houston Arts Alliance Sunnyside Gateway Public Art Project
- Podcast 15 Minutes with Sole