Donald Clarence Judd was born on June 3, 1928 in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. After serving in the United States Army in Korea, Judd attended The college of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, the Art Students League, New York; and Columbia University, New York, where in 1953 he received his B.S. in Philosophy, cum laude. As an art critic, Judd wrote for magazines such as ARTnews, Art Magazine, and Art International.
His early expression came in the form of paintings, however, his artistic style soon moved away from illusory media and he embraced constructions in which materiality was central to his work. Judd used materials such as metals, plywood, concrete and color-impregnated Plexiglas, which became staples of his career. Most of his output was in freestanding "specific objects" that used simple, often repeated forms to explore space and the use of space. During the 1970s he started making room sized installation that made the spaces themselves physical experiences.
His first solo exhibition was in 1957 at the Panoras Gallery in New York. During his lifetime, Judd exhibited regularly and widely at galleries in New York and across Europe and Japan. The Whitney Museum of American Art held two major exhibitions of his work, in 1968 and in 1988 and more recently, the Tate Modern in London in 2004. In 1996 the Judd Foundation was formed following the artist's wishes, to preserve the work and installations of Judd in Marfa, Texas and at 101 Spring Street in New York.
Judd moved to Marfa, Texas in 1972, where he lived and worked until his death on February 12, 1994.
