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Lot Essay
Judd wrote, "The first work that an artist feels is theirs is not a solution limiting the possibilities but is work that opens to limitless possibilities" (D. Judd, "Abstract Expressionism", Donald Judd Complete Writings 1975-1986, Eindhoven 1987, p.42).
In the present seminal early work, Judd explored the potential of elemental volumetric shapes as a free-standing object. He took a square and divided it diagonally to a depth half its height, removing one side of the top so that the shape appears as both a square and as two triangles. The work was constructed from wood, painted cadmium red to emphasize its form and to give the shape a vibrant optical presence in the space surrounding it. He explained his preference for cadmium red above all other colors: "I thought for a color it had the light value for a three dimensional object. If you paint something black or any dark color, you can't tell what its edges are like. If you paint it white, it seems small and purist. And the red, other than a gray of that value, seems to be the only color that really makes an object sharp and defines its contours and angles," (Don Judd: An Interview with John Coplans, Don Judd, exh. cat., Pasadena Art Museum 1971, p.28). Judd adhered a sheet of purple Plexiglas to the side of the top triangle, again to define the edge of the volume. This would be the first object by Judd to incorporate Plexiglas, a new material that would subsequently become a mainstay of his work. Judd was particularly interested in Plexiglas because it allowed him to experiment with colors that were inherent to the material and were not merely applied. He was also fascinated by its transparency, which made it feasible to delineate a specific volume without closing it off. Purple would become a favorite color, especially in conjunction with red.
Judd first defined this present form in 1963. This first example was until recently in the Estate of his friend and comrade, Dan Flavin. Judd created three further examples: In 1969 he fabricated an example which is today part of the permanent installation in Marfa, Texas. A further example was executed in 1975 for the Judd retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and is now part of this museum's wonderful holdings of the artist's work. The present Lot was made by Judd in 1988 for his retrospective at The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
In the present seminal early work, Judd explored the potential of elemental volumetric shapes as a free-standing object. He took a square and divided it diagonally to a depth half its height, removing one side of the top so that the shape appears as both a square and as two triangles. The work was constructed from wood, painted cadmium red to emphasize its form and to give the shape a vibrant optical presence in the space surrounding it. He explained his preference for cadmium red above all other colors: "I thought for a color it had the light value for a three dimensional object. If you paint something black or any dark color, you can't tell what its edges are like. If you paint it white, it seems small and purist. And the red, other than a gray of that value, seems to be the only color that really makes an object sharp and defines its contours and angles," (Don Judd: An Interview with John Coplans, Don Judd, exh. cat., Pasadena Art Museum 1971, p.28). Judd adhered a sheet of purple Plexiglas to the side of the top triangle, again to define the edge of the volume. This would be the first object by Judd to incorporate Plexiglas, a new material that would subsequently become a mainstay of his work. Judd was particularly interested in Plexiglas because it allowed him to experiment with colors that were inherent to the material and were not merely applied. He was also fascinated by its transparency, which made it feasible to delineate a specific volume without closing it off. Purple would become a favorite color, especially in conjunction with red.
Judd first defined this present form in 1963. This first example was until recently in the Estate of his friend and comrade, Dan Flavin. Judd created three further examples: In 1969 he fabricated an example which is today part of the permanent installation in Marfa, Texas. A further example was executed in 1975 for the Judd retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and is now part of this museum's wonderful holdings of the artist's work. The present Lot was made by Judd in 1988 for his retrospective at The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.