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. 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. This presentation brings together Judd’s 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.