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July 21 through September 15, 1996
Members' Preview and Opening Reception
Saturday, July 20, 1996, 6-8 pm
When the artist Donald Judd died in 1994, his furniture had already been in production for ten years. Although known worldwide as a minimalist sculptor, Judd had been expanding his interests to architecture and design for some time. In the buildings in Marfa, Texas, where he moved with his children in the 1970s, one can view his furniture designs as he used them; the standing desks for drafting, the long tables for spreading out artifacts and project drawings, the beds and chairs in intimate spaces.
The artist did not want to confuse furniture with art. He said: "The furniture is furniture and is only art in that architecture, ceramics, textiles and many things are art." However, these functional forms have so much in common with his sculpture that it is hard not to think of the two together. Certainly one can see the changing forms of his plywood boxes in the progession of support treatments on his chairs.
In pairing Focus: Donald Judd Furniture with Shaker: The Art of Craftsmanship, an obvious parallel of form and function can be drawn. The Shakers' insistence on usefulness and lack of ornamentation is echoed in Judd's writings on his own furniture ("Decoration isn't just applied; a chair is decoration.") Both were interested in mass production of simply conceived and constructed forms. Judd was not concerned with critics of his furniture who called it uncomfortable. To Judd, "Rather than making a chair to sleep in or a machine to live in, it is better to make a bed. A straight chair is best for eating or writing. The third position is standing."
Because of space limitations, only a fraction of Judd-designed
furniture is included in this exhibition, along with a selection of working
drawings. Unless otherwise noted, all of the furniture is in production
today. The exhibition is organized by curatorial consultant Barbara Toll, with
assistance from the Estate of Donald Judd.
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