- Untitled
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Working as both an artist and a writer, Donald Judd sought to overthrow traditional definitions of painting and sculpture. In their place he proposed specific objects that would occupy the same gallery space as the viewer. Judd worked in a pared-down aesthetic with industrially produced materials, a style that came to be known as Minimalism.
In his embrace of a reductive and geometric vocabulary, Judd's essential form was the box: open, closed, or even stacked in repetition. Instead of creating his pieces in a studio, Judd would have them fabricated by a factory, thereby ensuring a perfect finish. Here, Judd uses the box form to combine structure, color, and material. The brilliant red of the interior bottom reflects against the side panels, fusing surface and light. Further, by placing the object directly on the floor, as opposed to resting it on a pedestal or base, Judd not only emphasizes the object-like quality of the piece but also thrusts Untitled into the physical space of the viewer.
ProvenanceCommissioned from the artist; [Leo Castelli Gallery, New York]; purchased by MFAH, 1975.
Exhibition History"A Permanent Heritage: Major Works from the Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 23–January 4, 1981.
"A Century of Modern Sculpture 1882-1982," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, January 14, 1983–January 31, 1984.
"Donald Judd," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 19–December 31, 1988; traveled to Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, February 12–April 16, 1989.
"Modern and Contemporary Art: Spotlight on the Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 7–August 27, 2000.
"Modern and Contemporary Masterworks from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, December 8, 2007–March 2, 2008.
"Color into Light: Selections from the MFAH Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, December 13, 2008–March 22, 2009.
"Selections from the Museum's Collection: Post-War Painting and Sculpture," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 5–September 5, 2016.
"Color into Light," Nancy and Rich Kinder Building Inaugural Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 15, 2020–November 15, 2022.
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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