Biography

Judd studied at the Art Students' League in New York from 1947 to 1962. From 1949 to 1953 he studied philosophy and from 1957 to 1962 he studied art history at Columbia University in New York. His artistic beginnings lie in painting, which was continued in 1961 with relief-like images. He then developed further into sculpture and created his first free-standing floor piece in 1962. He realized his large-format works as individual pieces or multiple pieces in wood or metal, as well as a mix of materials with colored or painted Plexiglas. With these works he became the most important representative of minimal art.

In exhibitions he staged the arrangement as a row above, next to or behind one another with even spacing. Artistically, Judd devoted himself to defining spaces and realized various types of spaces in large, small or box format. He proceeded according to the architectural principle by first creating a schematic draft and then following up with a construction plan and a working drawing. In this last stage before creation, Judd also planned the material of his art object, which he made in plywood or aluminum. In the area of free sculpture he also used concrete. The spatial concept is the focus of his object productions, which is why the artist avoided details and decor as a typical feature of his work in this regard.

Judd's concept of space was defined by space itself, with the right angle being a central element and for him associated with precision and unerring clarity. The open spatial concept that he transferred to architecture moves within the boundaries of the horizontal and the vertical as gravity. In addition to his important architectural designs for the library of the Mansana de Chinati, his studio building and several housing estates, he turned to furniture designs. His practical artistic and architectural work was accompanied by numerous theoretical and critical writings. His art theoretical essays such as "Specific Objects" (1965) were of crucial relevance.

For example, he contributed art-critical writings to the magazine "Art News" between 1959 and 1965. Later, his critical observations affected the contemporary art world.
- IMDb mini biography by: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth