Donald Judd (1928 1994) transformed the twentieth-century art world with his influential work in art, design, and architecture. This exhibition looks beyond his noted sculptures, which he referred to as specific objects, and examines his furniture design as a parallel practice that began in the 1960s and deepened throughout his career. The research and exploration of form and scale evident in Judd s refined and nuanced artworks extended to all of the objects he created and surrounded himself with, reflecting a holistic approach that is grounded in rigorous spatial principles. Judd s designs emerged in response to what he saw as a lack of good, basic furniture. From tables and desks to chairs and beds, he created a distilled design language expressed in a diverse group of functional pieces. Working through hundreds of permutations, he established designs that demonstrate his philosophy of form and utility. Judd believed his furniture should serve unambiguous actions, such as sitting upright, standing, or lying flat. Of the negotiation between sculpture and furniture, he once wrote: The difference between art and architecture is fundamental. Furniture and architecture can only be approached as such. Art cannot be imposed upon them. If their nature is seriously considered the art will occur, even art close to art itself. In addition to his roles as an artist, a designer, and a writer, Judd was a collector of furniture that embodied a material presence or clear intention. He acquired iconic chairs and benches such as those by Alvar Aalto, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Gerrit Rietveld, Rudolph M. Schindler, and Gustav Stickley, shown in the gallery and in the photographs of Judd s spaces found in this exhibition guide. Donald Judd: Specific Furniture presents Judd s work alongside a selection of important pieces that he collected and lived with in his homes and studios, placing Judd firmly within the design canon and opening a broader lens on his creative practice and environment. Joseph Becker Associate Curator of Architecture and Design Cover: Architecture Studio, Marfa, Texas. Donald Judd, Corner Chair 15 and Armchair 1 (both 1984) Architecture Studio, Marfa, Texas. Alvar Aalto, Stool 60 (1932 33); Donald Judd, 49.5-Inch Frame Table 70 (1989); Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, MR Side Chair (1927); Gerrit Rietveld, Red Blue Chair (1918 23); and Karl Trabert, Desk Lamp (ca. 1930)
Judd began his career as both an artist and an art critic after studying philosophy and art history at Columbia University, New York, and painting at the Art Students League. Through a deeply investigatory practice, he developed a clear philosophy that guided what he found successful in historical and contemporary art and design, which shaped his visual logic. This approach placed particular emphasis on proportion and materials and on the idea that the installation of a work the use of space was as important as the work itself. Though motivated by entirely different desires and circumstances, Judd s furniture is similar in form and materials to his sculptural work, and it emerged from his investigation into how objects relate to and transform the spaces in which they are placed. Architecture Studio, Marfa, Texas. Alvar Aalto, Stools 60 (1932 33); Donald Judd, Open Side Chair 84 (1982) and Desk 10 (1984); and Gerrit Rietveld, Zig-Zag Chair with Armrests (ca. 1940) Top: 101 Spring Street, New York. Donald Judd, Fourth Floor Table 19 and Fourth Floor Low Table 18 (both 1981), and Serving Table 64 and Cart 62 (both 1985); Gerrit Rietveld, Zig-Zag Chairs (1934); and unknown, Swedish armchair (n.d.) Bottom: Whyte Building, Marfa, Texas. Donald Judd, Center-Pivot Door (1981); and Rudolph M. Schindler, Sling Chair, Low Stool, and Sofa (all 1922)
In 1971 Judd relocated from his five-story loft in Lower Manhattan to the wide-open, sparsely populated landscape of Marfa, in West Texas. In both places Judd created permanent arrangements of his own pieces and those by others that suited their respective environments, but Marfa allowed him the space and time to install and develop projects outside of what he considered a diluted metropolitan art scene that increasingly lacked the rigor he felt was imperative to making and experiencing successful work. Until his death, in 1994, Judd acquired buildings and ranch land in and around Marfa, dedicating some properties to domestic life and others to various aspects of his practice, establishing an architecture studio, an art studio, a writing office, a library, and many installations. With an interest in permanence and the spatial relationships among objects, Judd filled each property with art and artifacts that he had collected and studied. These arrangements included furniture that he considered both objects for use and objects for contemplation and that informed the development of his own designs. His buildings in New York and Texas, now the Judd Foundation, preserve spatial compositions that encompass art and furniture by Judd and by others whose philosophies and approaches the artist respected. Top: Architecture Office, Marfa, Texas. Donald Judd, Armchair 1 (1984); 14.75-Inch Frame Stool 70 (1989); Standing Desk 78, Architecture Desk 74, Plywood Desk 75, and Architecture Table 73 (all 1990); and Plywood Bookshelf 94 (1992) 101 Spring Street, New York. Alvar Aalto, Stool 60, Chairs 21, and Table 70 (all 1932 33); and Donald Judd, Library Shelves (1973) Bottom Left: North Library, The Block, Marfa, Texas. Donald Judd, 19.75-Inch Frame Chairs 67, 49.5-Inch Frame Table 70, and 19.75-Inch Frame Stool 68 (all 1989) Bottom Right: 101 Spring Street, New York. Donald Judd, 14.75-Inch Frame Chair 72 (1989)
All works in the exhibition are by Donald Judd and are in the collection of the Judd Foundation unless otherwise noted. 1 Chair with Shelf (Prototype) 1971 Painted steel Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 2 Chair (Prototype) 1971 Steel 3 Chair (Prototype) 1978 4 Chair (Prototype) 1978 5 Chair (Prototype) 1978 6 Center Divider Chair 84 1982, fabricated 1993 Mahogany plywood 7 Backward Slant Chair 84 1983, fabricated 1989 A B Gerrit Rietveld Berlin Chair 1923 Painted wood Gerrit Rietveld Zig-Zag Chair 1934 Wood, metal, and paint Modern Art, gift of Michael and, 1997 8 14.75-Inch Frame Chair 72 1989 Oak 9 49.5-Inch Frame Table 70 1989 Oak 10 14.75-Inch Frame Corner Chair 72 1990 Oak 11 Desk 33 1982, fabricated 2006 Walnut Courtesy Pace Gallery 12 Front Shelf Chair 84 1991, fabricated 1993 Plywood 13 Open Side Chair 84 1991, fabricated 1993 Plywood 14 Side Recessed Chair 84 1991, fabricated 1993 Plywood Alvar Aalto C Chair 21 1932 33 Birch and birch plywood Alvar Aalto D Table 70 1932 33 Birch and laminated birch Modern Art, Accessions Committee Fund purchase, 2018 15 Armchair 1 1984, fabricated 1993 Galvanized steel 16 Armchair 1 1984, fabricated 1998 Copper Modern Art, gift of Byron R. Meyer, 2014 17 Seat/Table/Shelf 9 1984 18 Double Chair 8 1984 19 Bookshelf 14 1984, fabricated 1993 Collection of Deborah and Jeff Jamieson 20 Chair 2 1984, fabricated 1991 E Collection of Deborah and Jeff Jamieson Gerrit Rietveld Crate Chair 1934 Modern Art, Accessions Committee Fund purchase, 2018 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe F MR 20 1927 Chrome-plated steel and wicker 21 Bookshelf 34 1983, fabricated 1991 Douglas fir 22 Single Daybed 32 1978, fabricated 1999 Modern Art, gift of Byron R. Meyer, 2014 23 Seat/Table Bench 31 1982, fabricated 1999 G Modern Art, gift of Byron R. Meyer, 2014 Rudolph M. Schindler Sling Chair 1922 Wood and canvas Collection of Friends of the Schindler House Gustav Stickley H Even-Arm Settle 208 1904 Oak Collection of The Stickley Museum, Craftsman Farms Walls Untitled drawings 1980 91 Graphite on paper
Top Left: Architecture Studio, Marfa, Texas. Alvar Aalto, Stool 60 (1932 33); Donald Judd, Desk 33 and Side Shelf Chair 84 (both 1982); Gerrit Rietveld, Red Blue Chair (1918 23); and Karl Trabert, Desk Lamp (ca. 1930) Top Right: Las Casas Ranch, Presidio County, Texas. Gustav Stickley, Desk with Integrated Bookshelves (1914) and Cube Chair (ca. 1910) Top: Southeast Studio, The Block, Marfa, Texas. Gustav Stickley, Even-Arm Settle 208 (1904) Bottom: 101 Spring Street, New York. Donald Judd, Fifth Floor Bed (1970); and unknown, Italian porter bench (n.d.) Bottom: 101 Spring Street, New York. Donald Judd, Single Daybed 32 (1978); and unknown, kitchen and stove tables (n.d.)
The stringent elimination of ornament in Judd s furniture allows for a focus on details of form and the clear expression of materials. From chairs and tables to beds, benches, and shelves, his designs exemplify a singular vision of scale and proportion. The connection of his furniture to both its surroundings and the body was crucial for Judd, as was the use or avoidance of color relative to the furniture s environment. Such relationships also informed Judd s interest in the iconic works of pioneering designers, including Rudolph M. Schindler, Alvar Aalto, Gerrit Rietveld, and Gustav Stickley, whose reverence for specificity of materials, function, and fabrication yielded forms that felt intentional and irreducible. These modernists broke the norms of furniture design in the early twentieth century particularly in the 1930s shedding the weight of the more ornate stylistic fads that came before them. The influence of these works on Judd s practice and design philosophy is clear, from the simple detail of the second-tier shelf on Aalto s Table 70, which resonates with Judd s 49.5-Inch Frame Table 70, to the organization of discrete planar elements in Rietveld s Berlin Chair and the exposed hardware and dimensional lumber of his Crate Chair, which finds an analogue in Judd s metal furniture. The configuration and the scale of art cannot be transposed into furniture and architecture. The intent of art is different from that of the latter, which must be functional. If a chair or a building is not functional, if it appears to be only art, it is ridiculous. The art of a chair is not its resemblance to art, but is partly its reasonableness, usefulness, and scale as a chair. These are proportion, which is visible reasonableness. The art in art is partly the assertion of someone s interest regardless of other considerations. A work of art exists as itself; a chair exists as a chair itself. Donald Judd, 1993 Top: Architecture Studio, Marfa, Texas. Andreas Christen, Aluminum Shelves (1964); Donald Judd, Standing Writing Desk 40 (1984); and Gerrit Rietveld, Red Blue Chair (1918 23), Berlin Chairs (1923), and Table Lamp (1925) Bottom: Architecture Studio, Marfa, Texas. Alvar Aalto, Table 70 (ca. 1935) and Chairs 66 (1935); Donald Judd, Bed 91 (1991); and Gerrit Rietveld, Beugelstoel (1927) and Crate Chair (1934)
I am often asked if the furniture is art, since almost ten years ago some artists made art that was also furniture. The furniture is furniture and is only art in that architecture, ceramics, textiles, and many things are art. The Block, Marfa, Texas. Donald Judd, Double Back Bench 20 (1981) Donald Judd, 1993 The furniture outside of the Architecture and Design gallery has been fabricated by Donald Judd Furniture, a company of the Judd Foundation. Visitors are welcome to touch and sit on these pieces before and after viewing the exhibition. 24 19.75-Inch Frame Armchair 69 1989, fabricated 2018 Cherry 25 Seat/Table/Shelf/Seat 13 1984, fabricated 2018 26 Stool 5 1984, fabricated 2018 27 Las Casas Bench 83 1991, fabricated 2018 Black walnut 28 Forward Slant Chair 84 1982, fabricated 2018 Mahogany plywood 29 Half Divided Chair 84 1982, fabricated 2018 Aniline-coated plywood 30 Double Back Bench 20 1981, fabricated 2018 Clear pine 31 Corner Chair 15 1984, fabricated 2018 The photographs in this guide were taken at the Judd Foundation in New York and Marfa, Texas, by Matthew Millman for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2018. Images Judd Foundation. Captions document design dates only. Copyright of the pictured artworks is held by the artists unless otherwise noted. Alvar Aalto: Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Donald Judd: Judd Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Gerrit Rietveld: 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Beeldrecht, Amsterdam. Page 6, bottom left, includes a view of Dan Flavin, alternate diagonal of March 2, 1964 (to Don Judd), 1964; 2018 Stephen Flavin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. The Block, Marfa, Texas. Donald Judd, Chair Benches 22, End Chairs 22, La Mansana Table 22, and concrete grill (all 1982) All quotations are from Donald Judd, It s Hard to Find a Good Lamp, first published in Donald Judd Furniture: Retrospective, exh. cat. (Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, 1993). Text Judd Foundation.
July 14 November 4, 2018