Judd was born in Missouri in 1928 and spent only brief periods studying art. In 1953, he graduated in Philosophy from Columbia University and his first solo exhibition of paintings was held in 1957, the same year he returned to Columbia to begin his Art History masters.
From the late 1950s, Judd began to make a name for himself as an art critic rather than as an artist. Over the early 1960s, he wrote for publications like ARTnews and Arts Magazine, becoming a champion of the growing Minimalist movement. As a critic, Judd believed that art should transcend its representational history and become something unique to itself.
In 1962, he renounced painting, believing the shape of the canvas was inherently representational. He began, instead, to create what he called his ‘specific objects’ — the wall-mounted or freestanding sculptures that his name would become synonymous with, like the vertical stack of Untitled (1969) or his horizontal Progressions. These geometric works, most often boxes, were repeated in permutations of material, deconstruction, size and colour.
Permutation and repetition would remain Judd’s abiding preoccupation, but, in the early 1970s, his work would take on an extraordinary new setting as he moved his practice to Marfa, Texas. There, he helped found the Chinati Foundation, a largely open-air museum that exhibited the works of artists like Dan Flavin and John Chamberlain. He developed his furniture practice during this time, designing beds, desks, benches, chairs, shelves and tables.
The Chinati Foundation is now the setting for some of Judd’s most monumental work, like 15 Untitled Works in Concrete (1980–1984) and 100 Untitled Works in Mill Aluminium (1982–1986). Judd died in 1994. In 2013, his work Untitled (DSS 42) achieved a record-breaking price of $14.1 million at Christie’s New York.
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Untitled
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Table Object, from Ten from Leo Castelli
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled (DSS 42)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1989 (Bernstein 89-24)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled (Bernstein 93-1)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1968 (DSS 120)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1989 (Bernstein 89-1)
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled (Bernstein 88-25)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1985 (85-9 LIPPINCOTT)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1980 (80-19 BERNSTEIN)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1988 (Menziken 88-16)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1988 (88-27 MENZIKEN)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Untitled
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled (76-32 Bernstein)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1983 (83-7 LIPPINCOTT)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled (87-32 Bernstein)
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1970
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled 1973 (DSS 319)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1978 (Treitel-Gratz 78-4)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1970 (DSS 217)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928–1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled (DSS132)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1970 (DSS 219)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled (DSS 115)
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled, 1987 (87-35 Bernstein)
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled (85-035 LEHNI)
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled (84-19)
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled (D65)
DONALD JUDD (1928-1994)
Untitled
Donald Judd (1928-1994)
Untitled (DSS 170)