Donald Judd

Reopening Thursday, August 27 and on view through January 9, 2021, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, presents the first US retrospective in thirty years of the work of Donald Judd. Organized by Ann Temkin, The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture; and Yasmil Raymond, Associate Curator; with Tamar Margalit, Curatorial Assistant; and Erica Cooke, Research Fellow, Department of Painting and Sculpture, MoMA, Judd explores the work of the celebrated artist who aimed to create straightforward pieces that could assume a direct, material, and physical presence, without recourse to grand philosophical statements. Judd eschewed the classical ideals of representational sculpture in favor of creating a rigorous visual vocabulary that sought clear and definite objects as its primary mode of articulation. Presented solely at MoMA, this retrospective includes some sixty works of sculpture, painting, and drawing, from public and private collections in the US and abroad.

“Half a century after Judd established himself as a leading figure of his time, there remains a great deal to discover,” Temkin says. “MoMA’s presentation will emphasize the radicality of his approach to art-making and the visual complexity of his work.” The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog, featuring essays examining subjects fundamental to Judd’s work and thinking, including methods of fabrication, his early paintings and sketchbooks, his relationship with museums, his interest in site-specific work, and his activities in the realms of design and architecture.

Published by Judd Foundation and David Zwirner Books in 2019, Donald Judd Interviews presents sixty interviews with the artist over the course of four decades and is the first compilation of its kind. It is the companion volume to the critically acclaimed and bestselling Donald Judd Writings.

Image:Installation view, Judd, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2020