Donald Judd

USA, 1928–1994
Judd’s work is indelibly linked to minimalism. Using industrial materials ranging from plexiglass to plywood, he explored the properties of sculpture: volume, space, colour, interval and seriality. A cerebral artist, Judd studied philosophy at Columbia University and at the same time took art classes at the Art Students League in New York. In his early career, he was better known for his writing and art criticism than his own art.

Untitled 1975

Understated and meditative, this work requires prolonged attention for its subtle character to be fully appreciated. The six identical boxes, spaced at equal intervals on a wall, are all partially open, inviting the viewer to pay as much attention to the inside, or negative space, as to the object itself, its exterior and material. Judd always chose materials carefully – not just for their practical use, but also for their specific qualities – with all subsequent decisions about size, shape and location growing out of this.

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