Donald Judd American, 1928-1994
Overview
Untitled, 1988 (Menziken 88-16), 1988
"After all, the work isn't the point, the piece is." -- DONALD JUDD
Donald Judd was an influential American artist widely regarded as one of the foremost figures in Minimalism, although he personally rejected the label. His artistic practice was rooted in a pursuit of purity, order, and clarity through form, material, and space. Judd sought to eliminate illusion and subjective expression from art, favoring instead the use of industrial materials such as aluminum, steel, plexiglass, and concrete, arranged in precise, geometric configurations. His iconic works—often modular, repetitive, and rigorously measured—demonstrate his commitment to "specific objects," a term he coined to describe artworks that exist independently of painting or sculpture traditions.
Judd’s work emphasized the physical relationship between object, viewer, and environment, with particular attention to proportion, scale, and spatial context. Beyond his objects, Judd made significant contributions to art theory, publishing critical essays that challenged conventional aesthetic values. His relocation to Marfa, Texas, in the 1970s allowed him to integrate art, architecture, and land on a monumental scale, resulting in permanent installations that continue to influence contemporary practices. Through his radical reduction of form and focus on material presence, Judd reshaped the discourse on art’s relationship to space, perception, and the built environment.
For almost four decades, Judd exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia with his work in museum collections worldwide. Major exhibitions of his work include the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1968, 1988); the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (1975); Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (1970); Tate Modern, London (2004); and The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2020).
Works
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Untitled, 1988 (Menziken 88-16), 1988
