Judd, the first U.S. retrospective of the minimalist master’s work in more than 30 years, officially opened last week at MoMA. The exhibition includes four galleries showcasing work spanning three decades of Donald Judd’s career, including some early paintings and sculptures and several examples of his signature "boxes" and "stacks."
Untitled 1991, enameled aluminum (foreground) and Untitled 1986 (back)
Born in Excelsior Springs, Missouri in 1928, Judd started off as an abstract painter and art critic in NYC, writing approximately 600 reviews from 1959-1965, according to MoMA. He began incorporating three-dimensional elements into his work, such as a baking pan embedded into a large black wooden panel, in the early 60s.
Untitled c. 1960, oil on canvas
Untitled 1962, cadmium red light oil on acrylic and sand on composition board with yellow Plexiglas
Untitled 1961, oil on composition board mounted on wood, with inset tinned steel baking pan
Untitled 1963, cadmium red light oil and black oil on wood with galvanized iron and aluminum
Untitled 1963, re-fabricated in 1975, cadmium red light oil on wood and purple lacquer on aluminum (front); Untitled 1963, cadmium red light oil on wood with violet Plexiglas (back, floor); Untitled 1963, cadmium red light oil on wood (back, wall)
With the help of his carpenter father, Judd soon transitioned to making wall reliefs and boxes, showing these works for the first time in 1963. Judd did not like to refer to his work as "minimal" or "sculpture," according to MoMA, "believing that his innovations set his work apart from historical precedent."
In the mid 60s, Judd began outsourcing his artwork to fabricators, Bernstein Brothers Sheet Metal Specialties, headquartered near his East 19th Street loft, according to the exhibit. He gave the metal shop detailed drawings and specifications to create pieces using material typically found in sinks and venting ducts. The company helped produce his "stacks" and his first is on view at MoMA. The work features seven identical galvanized iron boxes mounted vertically on the wall in a perfect column "separated by intervals that equal the height of the boxes."
In the late 60s, Judd began creating "progressions," wall works consisting of a bar connecting L-shaped pieces spaced in proportions inspired by the Fibonacci sequence. Floor versions of these "progressions" feature a series of large-scale steel frames "whose overall footprint" form "a perfect square."
Untitled 1964 (front); Untitled 1965, galvanized steel (right); To Susan Buckwalter 1965, blue lacquer on aluminum and galvanized iron (back wall), this piece was named for a collector in Kansas and is one of only two works that the artist titled.
Untitled 1970, purple lacquer on aluminum and cadmium red light enamel on cold-rolled steel and Untitled 1967, green lacquer on galvanized iron
Untitled 1968, stainless steel and amber Plexiglas (left); Untitled 1967, green lacquer on galvanized iron (back, right)
Untitled 1966, turquoise paint on aluminum; Untitled 1968, stainless steel and yellow Plexiglas (back)
Untitled 1968, stainless steel and yellow Plexiglas
In the 70s Judd began making "multi-unit" works that "responded to the specific parameters" of the spaces where they were displayed. He started to spend more time in Marfa, Texas where he acquired acres of land and property large enough to accommodate his artwork. The quiet, remote West Texas town has since been transformed into an art mecca, with Judd’s stamp apparent all around. With financial backing from the Dia Art Foundation, he established the Chinati Foundation there to permanently display his large-scale artwork as well as the work of his artist friends, including Dan Flavin, John Chamberlain, and many others. It is an absolute must-see for fans of Judd!
Untitled 1976-77, twenty-one stainless steel units (foreground); Untitled 1973, brass and blue Plexiglas (center); Untitled 1977, stainless steel with red Plexiglas (right); Untitled 1973, six plywood units (back)
Untitled 1973, brass and blue Plexiglas
Untitled 1973, brass and blue Plexiglas (foreground); Untitled 1969, four clear anodized aluminum units with blue Plexiglas (center); Untitled 1969, copper (back, left); Untitled 1976, galvanized iron (back, right)
Untitled 1970, clear and purple anodized aluminum (left) and Untitled 1969, copper (back, right)
Untitled 1969, four clear anodized aluminum units with blue Plexiglas; Untitled 1970, clear and purple anodized aluminum (back); Untitled 1969, copper (right)
In the 80s Judd began working with the Swiss manufacturer Lehni AG to create the multi-colored Lego-like aluminum works composed of "outward-facing open boxes." The centerpiece in the last gallery of the exhibit is a fun and enormous (59” x 295 ¼” x 65”) eight-color floor sculpture. Judd made six of these massive sculptures from 1984 to 1991, according to MoMA. He meticulously assembled the aluminum pieces "to achieve overall balance [in the colors] while avoiding patterns or the appearance of a system at play."
Untitled 1986, six aluminum units acrylic sheets
Judd installation view
Untitled 1986, Douglas fir plywood and orange Plexiglas
Untitled 1991, enameled aluminum
Judd died of cancer at the age of 65 in 1994. MoMA’s retrospective offers wonderful highlights from his extensive oeuvre. Seemingly simple and spare, Judd’s studies of form, space, color, and material are stunning and timeless, still influencing art and design to this day.
Other venues across the city will also host Judd exhibits to coincide with the MoMA retrospective, including the Judd Foundation (March 1 - July 11) at the artist's former Soho home, as well as Gagosian (March 12 - April 11) and David Zwirner (April 18 - June 26) galleries.
Judd
MoMA, 11 West 53rd Street, 6th Floor, NYC
Exhibition on view March 1 through July 11
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