Donald Judd

1928 - 1994

Biography

One of the most influential American artists of the Post-War period, the impact of Donald Judd on modern sculpture would be hard to overstate.

Judd became known as one of the key figures of Minimalism while working in New York in the 1960s. He rejected the label vehemently, although he shared many of the principles identified with Minimalist art, with a focus on the use of industrial materials to create abstract works that emphasise the purity of colour, form, space and materials. He described his work as 'the simple expression of complex thought'.

Judd was born in Missouri in 1928 and studied philosophy and art history at Columbia University. He began to paint in the 1940s and by the late 1950s was attempting to free his painting of traditional elements of composition. In the early 1960s, Judd began to introduce three-dimensional elements into his work, at first creating reliefs and then moving towards entirely free-standing structures which he called 'specific objects'.

By 1963 he had established an essential vocabulary of his work, including 'stacks', 'boxes' and 'progressions'. This vocabulary dominated his work for the next thirty years. He rejected the tradition of artistic expression and craftsmanship by using industrial materials such as Plexiglas, sheet metal and plywood. From the mid-1960s he also had external manufacturers to execute his designs.

Judd's engagement with philosophy, architecture, design and politics informed his own work, as well as his work as an art critic between 1959 and 1965. His minimal forms and intensive use of industrial materials remain a feature of a large proportion contemporary art, architecture and design.

Images

Untitled 1977 Galvanized steel and blue plexiglass 10 units, each 22.9 x 101.6 x 78.7 cm © Judd Foundation. Licensed by VAGA, New York/DACS, London 2010. The depiction of artworks herein should not necessarily be considered an intimation of ownership