Donald Judd Progression 1978 © Judd Foundation. Artists Right Society (ARS), New York and DACS, London 2023

Biography

Born 1928
Died 1994
Nationality American
Birth place Golf Hill
Death place New York City

Judd was born in Missouri in the USA. He was a painter prior to becoming a sculptor and was also a noted art critic. In 1963 Judd made his first fully three-dimensional works, initially from wood. He preferred to use industrial materials, such as aluminium and Plexiglas, as they could be cut and used precisely. Rejecting expression, description, symbol and metaphor, Judd aimed to reduce sculpture to its most basic constituents and make work that was exactly what it was, and nothing more. Although associated with the minimalist movement, Judd disliked the label, describing his work as 'the simple expression of complex thought'.

Glossary terms

Glossary terms

Minimalism

An art movement of the 1960s onwards, primarily in sculpture. It was in part a reaction against the flamboyance of Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism. It is characterised by a lack of expressiveness and the use of simple forms, often in repetition.

Abstract Art

Art in which there is no attempt to represent anything existing in the world, particularly used from the twentieth century onwards. ‘Abstraction’ refers to the process of making images that may in part derive from the visible world but which are reduced to basic formal elements.