Donald Judd: Specific Furniture

Widely considered one of the most important American artists of the twentieth century, Donald Judd transformed the art world with his work in art, design, and architecture.  This exhibition looks beyond Judd’s work in sculpture, which he called “specific objects,” to examine his furniture design as its own practice, independent from his artworks, bringing together his furniture designs with works that he owned and drew inspiration from, as well as a selection of Judd pieces that visitors can use outside the gallery.

Judd’s designs emerged out of a need for functional, simple, and agreeable furniture and were developed in response to what he saw as an absence of good and available pieces. In addition to his roles as artist, designer, and critic, Judd was also a collector of furniture designs by Alvar Aalto, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Gerrit Rietveld, and Rudolph Schindler, among others. 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.         

Image: Newly fabricated Donald Judd furniture for visitor use outside Donald Judd: Specific Furniture 2018 (installation view, SFMOMA); photo: Katherine Du Tie

Image: Architecture Studio, Judd Foundation, Marfa, Texas; © Judd Foundation; photo: Matthew Millman