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Known predominantly for his film work, including the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Johnny Depp is stepping further into the visual arts with Figures of the Fringe, an upcoming exhibition in Shanghai. Bringing together Depp’s paintings, videos, texts, and immersive installations, the exhibition promises to reveal a more personal, unmasked side of the famous actor. Through themes of identity, memory, and emotion, the works also explore masks and alter egos—and what they can conceal or reveal about the person behind them.
While Depp is best known as an actor and musician, visual art has long been another outlet for his creativity. He publicly entered the art market in 2022 with his debut collection, Friends & Heroes, released through Castle Fine Art. The series featured portraits of people who had influenced him, including Bob Dylan, Elizabeth Taylor, Al Pacino, and Keith Richards. The collection quickly sold out, bringing a creative practice Depp had largely kept private into public view.
“I’ve always used art to express my feelings and to reflect on those who matter most to me,” Depp said at the time of the collection’s release. “My paintings surround my life, but I kept them to myself and limited myself.”
He followed the collection with Friends & Heroes II in 2023, turning his attention to another group of figures who had influenced him, including Bob Marley, River Phoenix, Heath Ledger, and Hunter S. Thompson. In 2024, Depp also released Tarot, a four-work collection inspired by tarot imagery, with pieces drawing upon people and moments from his own life.
In October 2024, Depp took his visual art practice into a different realm with A Bunch of Stuff, his first solo exhibition, which debuted in New York. Rather than a conventional display of paintings, the multimedia experience combined hundreds of previously unseen artworks with large-scale immersive environments, gallery spaces, and narration by Depp himself. Together, the elements guided visitors through different periods of his life and creative development.
Figures of the Fringe continues this exploration of Depp beyond the characters for which he is famous. By bringing paintings together with video, writing, and immersive installations, the exhibition turns its attention toward the boundaries between public persona and private identity, offering audiences another glimpse into the creative world Depp once largely kept to himself.
Figures of the Fringe will be on view at The Modern Art Museum Shanghai from August 15 through December 13, 2026.
Johnny Depp is stepping further into the visual arts with Figures of the Fringe, an upcoming exhibition in Shanghai.
View this post on Instagram
Through themes of identity, memory, and emotion, the works also explore masks and alter egos—and what they can conceal or reveal about the person behind them.
View this post on Instagram
“I’ve always used art to express my feelings and to reflect on those who matter most to me,” Depp has said of his work. “My paintings surround my life, but I kept them to myself and limited myself.”
View this post on Instagram
Exhibition Information:
Johnny Depp
Figures of the Fringe
August 15–December 13, 2026
The Modern Art Museum Shanghai
4777 Binjiang Da Dao, near Pudian Lu, Pudong District, Shanghai, China
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