A comprehensive exhibition of furniture designed by American minimalist artist Donald Judd (1928-1994) has opened at Storage by Hyundai Card in Seoul, marking the first full spotlight on the artist's furniture work in Korea. The show, titled "Donald Judd: Furniture," features 38 pieces produced between the 1970s and 1990s, demonstrating Judd's unwavering commitment to material honesty and functional design.
Judd's approach to both art and furniture was deeply rooted in his philosophy of material authenticity. He had an intense dislike for materials that pretended to be something other than themselves, such as fiberglass designed to mimic stone texture. "For Judd, the question was disarmingly simple. Why not just let it be fiberglass? Fiberglass is already a material. Why not use it like that?" recalled his son, Flavin Judd, who serves as artistic director of the Judd Foundation.
This insistence on honesty stemmed from Judd's early background in philosophy and his heritage as the grandson of Midwestern farmers, where straightforward work without pretense was valued. "There's already so much mendacity and lying in the world. Why would you add to that?" said Flavin Judd, explaining his father's mindset. This principle of material clarity became the foundation of Donald Judd's artistic practice, emphasizing art as something immediately accessible and genuine.
While Judd began his career as a painter, he eventually shifted toward three-dimensional forms that would define his legacy. His signature stacked rectangular units, typically made from steel or concrete, occupy space with unmistakable directness and refuse any form of disguise or metaphor. These works established him as a landmark figure in postwar minimalism, though he consistently rejected that label throughout his career.
Judd's venture into furniture design emerged from both practical necessity and creative inspiration during his mid-career period. Although he first created a bed and sinks for his New York studio in the early 1970s, his furniture work truly flourished after his family moved to the small desert town of Marfa, Texas, in 1977. In Marfa, the lack of commercially available furniture that suited his aesthetic preferences prompted him to design his own pieces.
The first piece Judd created in Marfa was a bed, followed by two desks for his children. Later works were constructed by local carpenters who worked from Judd's sparse drawings or brief verbal instructions. "Don was a terrible carpenter," his son admitted with a smile, highlighting how the artist relied on skilled craftspeople to execute his vision while maintaining his role as the conceptual designer.
The Seoul exhibition showcases the full range of Judd's furniture designs, including daybeds, writing desks, chairs, benches, and bookshelves. Each piece is displayed without any decorative finish or fabrication that might disguise its true materials – hardwood, plywood, and bent steel. "Again, he liked things that were as honest as possible," Flavin Judd explained, emphasizing how this philosophy carried through every aspect of his father's work.
Alongside the furniture pieces, the exhibition features a selection of silkscreen prints and woodcuts, as well as Judd's furniture drawings displayed on the walls. These drawings appear more as technical instructions than artistic renderings, reflecting the practical and straightforward approach Judd brought to his furniture design process.
One notable irony of the exhibition, as acknowledged by Flavin Judd, is that visitors cannot touch or interact with the furniture pieces, despite Judd's emphasis on functionality and tactile engagement. "Any exhibition of furniture is slightly misleading," the younger Judd noted. "The function of a gallery is to show you things you can't touch, but that's misleading because you're supposed to sit on it. It's furniture." This limitation highlights the challenge of presenting functional design objects in a traditional art gallery context.
"Donald Judd: Furniture" will remain on display at Storage by Hyundai Card through April 26, 2026, offering Korean audiences an extended opportunity to explore this lesser-known but significant aspect of the influential artist's work.
