In the 1970s, pioneering minimalist artist Donald Judd moved to Marfa, Texas to escape New York’s art scene. He eventually bought 40,000 acres and three ranches, turning the quiet desert town into a studio and exhibition space. Today, Marfa has evolved from secluded railroad and military town to financially sustainable cultural hub and much-hyped art mecca. The 21 buildings Judd purchased have become home to a permanent collection of his work.
The Foundation’s recently announced restoration project is as much of a personal homage to Judd as it is a continuation of his lifelong mission. “The work of the Judd Foundation is defined by Don’s work and plans,” explains Judd’s daughter and the Foundation’s president Rainer, who helms the project with her brother Flavin. “The buildings themselves are an integral part of his work, and the spaces serve as physical maps of his thinking.”
Guided by Judd’s plans, drawings, and writings, the massive, several-year transformation will set out to finish what the artist began when he first moved to the area nearly a half-century ago. In addition to renovating six of the buildings on the compound, Rainer and Flavin will also make way for 27,500 square feet of new program space, expand conservation and research facilities, and open an additional 16,000 square feet of permanent installations to the public for the first time. (The Chinati Foundation, a museum dedicated to Judd and his contemporaries, will not be touched with this plan.)
The first phase, an estimated $2 million plan in collaboration with Rochester Institute of Technology’s Image Permanence Institute, engineering firm Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, and architects Troy Schaum and Rosalyn Shieh, will see the debut of two projects in 2020. The first is known as the Block, a full city block compound that includes two airplane hangars and Judd’s former residence. The artist’s two-story house, which once served as off-site facilities to the army base at Fort D.A. Russell, will remain installed with Judd-designed furniture in living spaces.
The second project will refresh Judd’s former Architecture Office. Using archival material and photographs, the restoration of the early 20th-century structure will honor the artist’s original plans. “We don’t want to erase any of the intention or patina, not only of Judd, but of the generations of West Texans who lived in this building,” says Shieh of the space, which will house his drawings, furniture, and architectural models, as well as an installation of Judd’s bedroom, office, and sitting room, allowing visitors to take in the artistry and the man behind it.
