Donald Judd

Irving Blum, Los Angeles
Sale: Peace Art Council & Artists' Protest Tower Auction, Los Angeles, November 1967
Eugene Kazor, Los Angeles
Private Collection, Los Angeles
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, Contemporary Art, 15 November 2006, Lot 445
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Dudley del Balso, Brydon Smith & Roberta Smith, Donald Judd: Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Objects and Woodblocks 1960-1974, Ottawa 1975, p. 133, no. 74, illustrated

Colours: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although there are slightly more sea green tones throughout the plexiglass in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is some very minor rubbing to the extreme tips of the corners.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Donald Judd's stellar Untitled (DSS 74), 1967 is one of the artist's boldest and most revolutionary examples of the interplay between space, structure and colour. The first form to utilize plexiglass on the top and bottom, Untitled (DSS 74) permits the complete structural transparency and spatial displacement that mark the artist's best work. The dual plexiglass surface casts a serene green shadow on the wall and floor below, displaying Judd's interest in the structural potentialities of light, and presenting a dialogue between the artist and his close friend, Dan Flavin. Notably, the present work is one of only two examples of this form in this material, the other example is housed in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

 

Until 1963, Judd had primarily explored the relationship of sculptural forms with their surroundings via the abandonment of traditional supports such as plinths and bases. These early free-standing works, such as Untitled (DSS33) from 1962 in the collection of the Kunstmuseum Basel and Untitled (DSS39) from 1963 in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., were groundbreaking in their emphasis on spatial volume, man-made material, and the abandonment of aesthetic artifice. However, it was not until 1964 that Judd grasped the potential success of this stratagem on the otherwise unadulterated terrain of the wall. It was then that he realized, "My work on the floor was a new form, creating space amply and strongly. The relationship could be the same to the wall" (the artist cited in: Nicholas Serota, Ed., Donald Judd, London, 2004, p. 150).