7th "Judd"
Authors: Ann Temkin, Erica Cooke, Tamar Margalit, Christine Mehring, James Meyer, Annie Ochmanek, Yasmil Raymond, Jeffrey Weiss
Published by Museum of Modern Art
New York 2020
"Judd" is a publication that is special in two ways. First - it is one of the few and probably the most comprehensive to date monograph of an outstanding American artist classified as part of the minimal art movement - Donald Judd. Second - it is unique in that it accompanies his retrospective exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art, which was supposed to be open to the public from March 1 to June 11, 2020, but due to the pandemic it did not open and can only be viewed online. This is the first such large-scale exhibition of Judd's work in more than 30 years. It covers the entire period of his creative activity, and it took almost a decade to create.
At the beginning of his career, the artist was involved in creating paintings, reliefs and small three-dimensional objects called "specific objects." In the early 1960s Judd developed his own unique style, based on basic geometric solids, their layering, repetition and various configurations. At that time he also began to use industrial materials: plexiglass, steel, aluminum, copper, concrete and plywood. The sizes of individual elements, their spacing, the interrelationship between the work and the wall, floor or ceiling, the juxtaposition of mass and void, the contrasts of solid and transparent materials - these were key issues for Judd. Another characteristic feature of the artist's works was the extraordinary precision and pietism of execution. He created works on various scales - from sculptures, furniture and interiors to monumental spatial installations near the city of Marfa, Texas. His work was also inspired by numerous architects, including Herzog & de Meuron, Jean Nouvel and Norman Foster.
In addition to curatorial essays, analytical texts, past interviews and numerous photographs, the over 300-page monograph prepared by MoMA includes previously unpublished archival material made available by the Judd Foundation. The book is an ideal compendium of Donald Judd's rich oeuvre and a must-have item for any admirer of minimalism in its broadest sense.
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