Donald Judd Furniture
In Conversation with Rainer Judd
28.04.26

Book Club is an opportunity for design discourse – news, views and reviews from the world of publishing in conversation with our favourite design authors, commentators and provocateurs.

–

One of the most influential figures in postwar American art, Donald Judd is celebrated for a practice built on directness of form, material honesty and an uncompromising relationship between object and space. His legacy, spanning art, architecture, furniture and land, continues to be rigorously stewarded by Judd Foundation.

Rainer Judd, President of Judd Foundation and Donald’s daughter, has made that stewardship her life’s work. Wide-ranging in scope, it extends from land conservation in the Chinati Mountains to co-editing Donald Judd Spaces (2020). Rainer’s most recent contribution to the Foundation’s publishing program is Donald Judd Furniture (2024), which brings rigorous new attention to a deeply considered, if less publicly documented, dimension of her father’s practice.

Donald Judd Furniture documents 104 furniture pieces made by the artist between 1970 and 1991 — designed first out of necessity during the renovation of his home and studio at 101 Spring Street in New York, and later in response to the challenge of furnishing his Marfa, Texas properties. Presented through newly commissioned drawings, archival sketches and colour photography, including pieces that remain in production through the Foundation today, the publication reveals how Judd’s furniture embodies the same formal precision and unadorned functionality for which his artworks are celebrated.

Neil Hugh Kenna, NHO Founding Director, recently sat down with Rainer to discuss Donald Judd Furniture. This is their conversation.

Portrait by Justin Chung.

Donald Judd Furniture is available to purchase via Bookshop by Uro and other select bookshops.

–

NHK: Rainer, thank you for making the time to discuss Donald Judd Furniture. Before we examine the book itself, can you share a little about the purpose of the Foundation, what your role is, and how it differs from that of your brother, Flavin?

RJ: Judd Foundation has been in existence for more than thirty years. Throughout that time, we have evolved but our mission remains singular: we preserve and maintain. The formal mission of the Foundation is to maintain and preserve Don’s permanently installed living and working spaces, libraries, and archives in New York and Marfa, Texas. We promote a wider understanding of his artistic legacy by providing access to his spaces and resources and by developing scholarly and educational programs, and now publications.

As president of the Foundation, I am based in Marfa. I have the honour of overseeing our land stewardship initiatives, which is another way for us to think about the word preservation. As artistic director, Flavin oversees our collections and exhibitions, and the aesthetics for foundation projects.

NHK: The release of Donald Judd Furniture follows catalogues on Judd’s Writings, Interviews and Spaces. It would seem intentionality is core to all things Donald Judd, so I am curious to know whether the order of publications was intentional, and if so, what does ‘Furniture’ represent in the context of the other topics?

RJ: The order was intentional and we started with Writings as a strong place to build a relationship with Don’s ideas, values, and thinking about existing in the world. You’ll notice the colour of each publication’s title is also an intentional system – it is the colour of the next publication’s cover. The publications are different access points to Don’s work, as a writer, as an artist, and someone who is considering space with his furniture and architecture.

NHK: The book catalogues Judd’s evolution as a furniture designer, with a specific focus on materiality. Initially focused on timber, later designs were fabricated in sheet metal and steel frame. Did Judd ever experiment with other materials such as plastic or glass? What are his lesser-known material forays or even failures?

RJ: Yes! I am so glad you noticed this as it is so nuanced to Don’s approach to making. He was interested in materials for their qualities, rather than for what they might mean or represent. That understanding of something–the material–existing in itself and being enough, is felt in his designs.

He did not experiment with plastic or glass. That did not mean that he didn’t appreciate good design that utilised those materials, it was just not something he wanted to use in his furniture. In terms of failure in furniture design, he acknowledges one in his essay It’s Hard To Find A Good Lamp, and I think that can help frame his entire approach to furniture and art. He came to understand that derivation of forms from his art, transposed to furniture and architecture, was futile. This is because unlike art, furniture and architecture have to be functional, serve a purpose.

NHK: Judd’s highly rational approach could be viewed through the contemporary lens of minimal waste sustainability. His works demonstrates a respect for natural materials, and he felt passionate about the relationship between his work and the spaces they inhabit. However, was sustainable practice or environmentalism a concern for Judd?

RJ: Don was an environmentalist and a conservationist. Throughout his life he advocated for the preservation of cities and buildings, and for the protection of the natural world from development and destruction. He was a founding member of the Texas chapter of the Environmental Defense Fund. During his lifetime, he slowly acquired close to 40,000 acres of land south of Marfa, his ranch, Ayala de Chinati. “Ayala” is a basque word, and it translates to where a slope meets a pasture or meadow. Today, this land is protected as part of a conservation easement that is central to Judd Foundation’s mission.

NHK: Judd wrote in It’s Hard to Find a Good Lamp, “The difference between art and architecture is fundamental. Furniture and architecture can only be approached as such. Art cannot be imposed upon them.” Given this, what do you think Judd would make of collectible design as a concept? Is a focus on functionality and clarity at odds with being collectible, or is what one chooses to make of an object irrelevant to the maker themselves?

RJ: It is hard to say what he would think of collectible design as a concept, especially today. I know that Don disliked consumerism, commercialisation, and capitalism. He had strong opinions about furniture as furniture, its installation as well as its production.

If you think of his spaces in New York and Marfa, and all the furniture found there, with designs by Marcel Breuer, Mies van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto, Gerrit Rietveld, and others, you would think he was someone engaging in collectible design. But he did not think about it as an activity; he bought that furniture because he liked it and he used it. He believed in living with objects that were not only useful but also well made and beautiful. He knew good furniture and good architecture could have a positive effect on people.

NHK: Finally, what is next for Judd Foundation? Is there another publication in the works?

RJ: This year, we are publishing a second edition of Donald Judd Spaces with MACK. It includes new photography of the Architecture Office. The new edition also has elevation drawings of all of Don’s spaces, so slightly more architectural.

NHK: I look forward to getting my hands on a copy. Rainer, thank you for discussing Donald Judd Furniture.

RJ: Thank you, Neil.

–

Donald Judd Furniture is available to purchase via Bookshop by Uro and other select bookshops.