November 21 - January 18, 2019
“An exhibition of furniture by Alvar Aalto and paintings by John Chamberlain on the ground floor of 101 Spring Street in New York. The exhibition presents works from the Architecture Office, one of Donald Judd’s living and working spaces in Marfa, Texas.
In 1990, Judd acquired the Glascock Building in Marfa, a two-story building from the late nineteenth century which he designated as his Architecture Office. Judd used the ground floor as the office and the second floor as guest housing in which he installed paintings by Chamberlain, furniture by Aalto, and furniture of his own design. For Judd, the making and viewing of art were coextensive with the other activities of living. By placing Aalto furniture and Chamberlain paintings together, Judd created what was for him a natural situation for viewing art.
The distinctive paint which Chamberlain used to make the paintings exhibited in Aalto + Chamberlain is composed of successive layers of transparent lacquer with reflective flake. Chamberlain made a number of paintings using lacquer and reflective flake between 1963 and 1965, including a group of eight measuring four by four feet. First exhibited at Leo Castelli Gallery in January 1965, Judd purchased six of the eight paintings, initially installing the works on the fourth floor of 101 Spring Street and later in the two-story building at La Mansana de Chinati/The Block in Marfa. This is the first exhibition of the six paintings as a group since 1965, presented with Conrad, a seventh painting from the same series, on loan from the collection of the Dia Art Foundation.
In addition to the paintings by Chamberlain, this exhibition includes examples of Aalto furniture collected by Judd that may be used by visitors. An avid collector of Aalto furniture, Judd placed dozens of pieces ranging from the standard to the specific across his spaces in New York, Marfa, and Europe.
Public programs for Aalto + Chamberlain will be presented in partnership with the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York and the John Chamberlain Estate in January 2020.
Aalto + Chamberlain is made possible with support from George Economou. Additional support is provided by Artek.”
Artist talk: November 6, 2019
Judd Foundation Exhibition Space
104 Highland St.
Marfa, 79843 TX
432.729.4406
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