Property from the Collection of Mrs. Diane Venet Donald Judd Follow Untitled stamped with the artist's name, number, date and foundry "DONALD JUDD 85-15 LEHNI AG SWITZERLAND" on the reverse painted aluminum, in 2 parts left 11 7/8 x 94 1/2 x 11 7/8 in. (30.2 x 240 x 30.2 cm.) right 11 7/8 x 82 3/4 x 11 7/8 in. (30.2 x 210.2 x 30.2 cm.) overall 11 7/8 x 177 1/4 x 11 7/8 in. (30.2 x 450.2 x 30.2 cm.) Executed in 1985.
Provenance Paula Cooper Gallery, New York Acquired from the above by the present owner Exhibited New York, Paula Cooper Gallery, Donald Judd , October 4 - November 1, 1986 Bottrop, Josef Albers Museum, Donald Judd & Josef Albers Color, Material, Space , June 29 – September 28, 2008 Literature Dietmar Elger, Donald Judd Colorist , exh. cat., Sprengel Museum, Hannover, 2000, p. 55 (illustrated) Vittoria Morganti, "Espressioni di Innovazione," Ottagono, Design Architecttura Idee , no. 187, February 2006, p. 104 (installation view, illustrated) "Taller de Escultor," Architectural Digest , no. 3, Spain, May 2006, p. 219-220 ((installation view, illustrated) Bernard Chauveau, ed., Venet Foundation , Surenes, 2014, p. 101 (installation view, illustrated) "Absolument arty," Residences Decoration , October - November 2015, p. 110 (installation view, illustrated) "Le Paris Arty de Diane et Bernar Venet " Villas , no. 91, September 2016, n.p. (installation view, illustrated) Video Donald Judd 'Untitled', 1985 Install view of 'Untitled', 1985 at 450 Park Avenue Catalogue Essay “Color is like material. It is one way or another, but it obdurately exists.” – Judd, 1993 A three-dimensional panorama of pure color, Donald Judd’s Untitled , 1985, is a striking early example of the artist’s series of multicolored works, created during the last decade of his life. These discrete modular wall and floor works executed largely between 1984 and 1989 were the first time Judd employed thin sheets of painted aluminum in combinations of more than two color hues at the same time. As with all wall works from this series, the present work consists of two rows of hollow, colored boxes, identical in height but varying in length, that are bolted to one another. Held in the esteemed collection of Diane Venet for over 30 years, this unique work is distinguished not only for its exceptional provenance, but also as the longest and among the most chromatically complex wall mounted pieces in the series. Demonstrating Judd’s continued fascination with the color red – cadmium red having figured as a chromatic leitmotif throughout his career – as well as his new embracing of a wide range of tonalities, these enameled boxes are paired vertically to create two-colored compositional units, ranging from blue/dark grey, black/white, traffic red/wine red, which progress sequentially according to a carefully conceived organizational principle that represents the culmination of Judd’s pursuit of an aesthetic unfettered from the illusionism of painting and sculpture. Although Judd’s multicolored works are now widely recognized as the culmination of his career-long investigation of color, Venet’s acquisition of Untitled shortly after its creation demonstrated a remarkable prescience and acute understanding of Judd’s practice. At that time, Diane and Bernar, the acclaimed conceptual artist, were deeply immersed in the New York art world and had forged close relationships with some of the most influential artists of that period, including Frank Stella Sol LeWitt Carl Andre Robert Smithson On Kawara and especially Donald Judd The Venet’s support of like-minded peers resulted in an exceptional collection of largely Minimalist art, a selection of which Bernar curated in dialogue with his own sculptural work at the Venet Foundation in Le Muy in the South of France that opened to the public in 2014. Developed in close conversation with Judd over the decades, the blueprint for this vast site followed that of Judd’s Chinati Foundation in Marfa. The special place Untitled occupies within this collection becomes evident in the couple’s choice to continue living with the present work in their private residence. When Venet acquired the present work, Judd’s adoption of color with works such as the present one was deemed a radical departure from his established practice. Judd’s industrially-fabricated, three-dimensional “specific objects” were widely perceived as the paragon of Minimal
Property from the Collection of Mrs. Diane Venet Donald Judd Follow Untitled stamped with the artist's name, number, date and foundry "DONALD JUDD 85-15 LEHNI AG SWITZERLAND" on the reverse painted aluminum, in 2 parts left 11 7/8 x 94 1/2 x 11 7/8 in. (30.2 x 240 x 30.2 cm.) right 11 7/8 x 82 3/4 x 11 7/8 in. (30.2 x 210.2 x 30.2 cm.) overall 11 7/8 x 177 1/4 x 11 7/8 in. (30.2 x 450.2 x 30.2 cm.) Executed in 1985.
Provenance Paula Cooper Gallery, New York Acquired from the above by the present owner Exhibited New York, Paula Cooper Gallery, Donald Judd , October 4 - November 1, 1986 Bottrop, Josef Albers Museum, Donald Judd & Josef Albers Color, Material, Space , June 29 – September 28, 2008 Literature Dietmar Elger, Donald Judd Colorist , exh. cat., Sprengel Museum, Hannover, 2000, p. 55 (illustrated) Vittoria Morganti, "Espressioni di Innovazione," Ottagono, Design Architecttura Idee , no. 187, February 2006, p. 104 (installation view, illustrated) "Taller de Escultor," Architectural Digest , no. 3, Spain, May 2006, p. 219-220 ((installation view, illustrated) Bernard Chauveau, ed., Venet Foundation , Surenes, 2014, p. 101 (installation view, illustrated) "Absolument arty," Residences Decoration , October - November 2015, p. 110 (installation view, illustrated) "Le Paris Arty de Diane et Bernar Venet " Villas , no. 91, September 2016, n.p. (installation view, illustrated) Video Donald Judd 'Untitled', 1985 Install view of 'Untitled', 1985 at 450 Park Avenue Catalogue Essay “Color is like material. It is one way or another, but it obdurately exists.” – Judd, 1993 A three-dimensional panorama of pure color, Donald Judd’s Untitled , 1985, is a striking early example of the artist’s series of multicolored works, created during the last decade of his life. These discrete modular wall and floor works executed largely between 1984 and 1989 were the first time Judd employed thin sheets of painted aluminum in combinations of more than two color hues at the same time. As with all wall works from this series, the present work consists of two rows of hollow, colored boxes, identical in height but varying in length, that are bolted to one another. Held in the esteemed collection of Diane Venet for over 30 years, this unique work is distinguished not only for its exceptional provenance, but also as the longest and among the most chromatically complex wall mounted pieces in the series. Demonstrating Judd’s continued fascination with the color red – cadmium red having figured as a chromatic leitmotif throughout his career – as well as his new embracing of a wide range of tonalities, these enameled boxes are paired vertically to create two-colored compositional units, ranging from blue/dark grey, black/white, traffic red/wine red, which progress sequentially according to a carefully conceived organizational principle that represents the culmination of Judd’s pursuit of an aesthetic unfettered from the illusionism of painting and sculpture. Although Judd’s multicolored works are now widely recognized as the culmination of his career-long investigation of color, Venet’s acquisition of Untitled shortly after its creation demonstrated a remarkable prescience and acute understanding of Judd’s practice. At that time, Diane and Bernar, the acclaimed conceptual artist, were deeply immersed in the New York art world and had forged close relationships with some of the most influential artists of that period, including Frank Stella Sol LeWitt Carl Andre Robert Smithson On Kawara and especially Donald Judd The Venet’s support of like-minded peers resulted in an exceptional collection of largely Minimalist art, a selection of which Bernar curated in dialogue with his own sculptural work at the Venet Foundation in Le Muy in the South of France that opened to the public in 2014. Developed in close conversation with Judd over the decades, the blueprint for this vast site followed that of Judd’s Chinati Foundation in Marfa. The special place Untitled occupies within this collection becomes evident in the couple’s choice to continue living with the present work in their private residence. When Venet acquired the present work, Judd’s adoption of color with works such as the present one was deemed a radical departure from his established practice. Judd’s industrially-fabricated, three-dimensional “specific objects” were widely perceived as the paragon of Minimal
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
