Judd's Interior & Furniture Design

I think it's pretty interesting that Judd made quite a few furniture pieces in his time, and was as rigorous in designing them as he was in making his art.

Nevertheless, he considered design an entirely separate thing from art. Someone once suggested that one of his steel boxes would make a great coffee table; he considered it and then decided it would be blasphemous to make a work of art serve a practical purpose. Design, on the other hand, was purely practical for him.

These days, in our age of "design as art," his furniture sure looks as beautiful and "artful" as his art.


Here is a peek inside a window at some of his chairs. Very boxy, just like his, er, boxes, no?


More chairs... I like how when all of them are pushed in, they look like the legs of the table.


These are what are known as "Judd doors." They hinge from the middle and can only be opened to a 45-degree angle, per his meticulous specifications. At least that's the story the Chinati has. When we went on a tour of Judd's old house in the neighborhood later on in the afternoon, the Judd Foundation pooh-poohed that and said there was no need to be so strict: "Oh, we're not going to yell at you if it's not at that exact angle." Hmm, wonder why there's the disagreement?