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Lot Essay
In the summer of 1989, Judd exhibited twelve floor pieces at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden in Germany. Fabricated out of clear anodized aluminum in Switzerland, the Baden-Baden boxes are identical in scale - they each measure 100cm (39 3/8in.) in height, and 200cm (78¾in.) in width and depth. Each is however an individual work that represents twelve ideas out of a much larger number of possibilities. The decision to limit the number to twelve was determined by the space available in the Kunsthalle. Although Judd had investigated the properties of an open box form in earlier works, the Baden-Baden boxes demonstrate a new rhythmic system of alternate dividers that separate the internal spaces. It was also the first time that Judd used anodized aluminum in this large scale.
The interior of each box is separated in half by a divider which is either half or the full height of the box. A second half-height divider cuts one half of the work into quarters, and this divider either rises from the base or is raised flush with the upper rim of the open box. Color is introduced by means of either anodized elements in black or blue, or Plexiglas sheets of black, blue or amber, which are arranged on the base of the divided areas. The various combinations of divider, color and materials determine the individual nature of each work.
Judd chose anodized aluminum both for its light weight and for its matt silvery sheen. In his most ambitious work - one hundred pieces in mill aluminum, made in the early 1980s for Marfa, Texas - Judd had already experimented with the potential of light and reflection as a means of dematerializing sharp-edged boxes. Similarly, he was fascinated how the Baden-Baden boxes reflected light and how they seemed to magically glow from within as if the light source was internal. This inward ethereal and amazingly radiant quality contrasted with the outwardly strict and austere box shapes. The effect is particularly mesmerizing in the case of examples such as the present Lot where the different gleaming sheets of colored Plexiglas reflect on the shimmering interior walls to create beautiful tonal ranges of orange and black glow that appears weightless. As is always demanded of a work by Judd, every quality is inherent to the materials, spaces and color of the object itself.
The interior of each box is separated in half by a divider which is either half or the full height of the box. A second half-height divider cuts one half of the work into quarters, and this divider either rises from the base or is raised flush with the upper rim of the open box. Color is introduced by means of either anodized elements in black or blue, or Plexiglas sheets of black, blue or amber, which are arranged on the base of the divided areas. The various combinations of divider, color and materials determine the individual nature of each work.
Judd chose anodized aluminum both for its light weight and for its matt silvery sheen. In his most ambitious work - one hundred pieces in mill aluminum, made in the early 1980s for Marfa, Texas - Judd had already experimented with the potential of light and reflection as a means of dematerializing sharp-edged boxes. Similarly, he was fascinated how the Baden-Baden boxes reflected light and how they seemed to magically glow from within as if the light source was internal. This inward ethereal and amazingly radiant quality contrasted with the outwardly strict and austere box shapes. The effect is particularly mesmerizing in the case of examples such as the present Lot where the different gleaming sheets of colored Plexiglas reflect on the shimmering interior walls to create beautiful tonal ranges of orange and black glow that appears weightless. As is always demanded of a work by Judd, every quality is inherent to the materials, spaces and color of the object itself.